The Taste Of Your Magic
by Annoy mouse
Summary: Deliciously Dark. Bellatrix finds baby Harry left with the muggles & discovers his unusual accidental magical trait, one that she finds... Very Appealing. She decides to keep and groom him to be the perfect Dark Lord, and enlists the aid of Narcissa. Harry/Bellatrix, quasi-harem for a reason but H/B/N overall. M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I got kinda bored and stuck with my other writing and so I decided to write this! It's pretty much unedited and it started off not even being a story! So bear with me while I figure it all out. My first Harry Potter fic, here it goes!**

**Oh, and its kinda dark and squicky and stuff, so umm, yeah. HarryBellatrix**

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Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus, brother-in-law Rabastan and Barty Crouch jnr went into shock when they realised their Dark Marks had paled, all but gone. Their Master had fallen, there was no other explanation. Days were wasted arguing, waiting and panicking before eventually they agreed and went to Godric's Hollow in disguise to discover what happened to their lord. Surely he had slain the Potters with ease? Unless Wormtail had betrayed them?

What they found was worse than they had ever imagined possible.

Their Master had failed to kill the Potter child, already hailed a saviour, The-Boy-Who-Lived, of all things. They searched and could find no trace of their lord's presence nor clue to his whereabouts and the two men decided that perhaps their time would be better spent on the other possible candidate for the Prophesy. About to apparate away, Bellatrix noticed some familiar gouges on the ground and begged off to investigate something else. The men and boy shrug and leave without her, she can handle herself better than they and they all know it, and loathe it.

Unmindful of the mourners and interlopers around her, Bellatrix moved to the motorbike tracks and began casting subtle scrying and tracking spells. She'd know those tracks anywhere, Sirius had always loved his bike. Rumours were already spreading about his murder of Peter Pettigrew and betrayal of the Potters, but she didn't believe a word of it. Sirius was no Death Eater, and he'd sooner gnaw his limbs of before betray his precious Blood-traitor family. And it was clear to see on his face that Peter was beyond cowardly. How anyone couldn't see what had really happened was beyond her, but then she had never accused the so-called 'Light Side' of intelligence.

Casting complete, Bellatrix summoned one of the many brooms leaning against a nearby wall and took to the sky, uncaring if anyone saw her theft in her polyjuice-altered form. The trail she followed was not as she expected, lacking the taste of her cousin, but then it made sense for him to give the babe to another for safe-keeping while he went and failed his attempt at revenge. Typical Gryffindor.

Eventually the polyjuice wore off and her natural form emerged. Thick, long black hair with slight curls blew past her beautifully elegant face to trail behind her, shining pure black in the sunlight as the wind swept over her. High cheeks flushed against the sting of chilled air and her perfect features seemed to glow, belying their usually noble pale colour. Long eyelashes framed beautiful glittering dark hazel eyes that saw more than most.

As the transformation finished, she belatedly remembered to cast her usual muggle-repelling charms and wards against notice; it wouldn't do for some random Auror to get the drop on her. The trail began descending right into the most muggle-looking area she'd ever seen. What on earth were they doing here? Then she snorted. It would be just like that muggle-loving fool to have his precious hideout right in the middle of such filth.

The trail came to an end before changing direction, straight to Hogwarts it seemed, and lacking the subtle extra presence of the babe. So they had switched couriers, they were not as incompetent as she had thought, then. Ten minutes was spent floating around in closer circles, checking for any traps or trails leading away. They wouldn't have apparated with a baby, surely! But as more time passed and no further trail appeared, it seemed her opponents were even more ruthless than she thought. She landed in an alleyway and held her stomach. Apparating with a child! Surely there could be no chance Dumbledore would allow such a thing.

Visions of having a baby of her own torn apart and reformed while still so unstable, so immature, had her nearly losing her last meal. How could they!? The risks... The damage! Nails bit through her robes and into her sides, arms across her cursed womb. To have such a precious gift and to throw it away, to hurt it like that...!

Lost to her daydreams of a child with black hair and pale skin looking up to her with sweet smiles and being able to smile back, and her rage that others would have this and dare damage it, Bellatrix forgot that her Master had fallen, that she was lost without him. Time passed unmarked as she vacillated between righteous fury and regretful longing. Then the piercing cry of a baby cut through to her and she was aware once more.

Her wand was up and ready and her other hand out for subtle wandless magic as she looked for the source of the noise. The chances of it being the babe in question were perhaps slim at best, she only had to look down the street to get some idea of how fast these muggles must breed, but something pulled her to check anyway.

Bellatrix moved forward with all the grace and stealth of some stalking predator, disillusionment and warding up fast as ever. Her hand and wand moving slightly in curious, small motions before her before she stopped dead in her tracks.

A Blood Ward. A Powerful Blood Ward. This was beyond anything she had expected. What the hell was going on? One of the most powerful Blood Magicks, protecting a muggle home? Why would anyone-

They wouldn't _dare_...

They couldn't _possibly_...

They had.

Harry Potter, the only one to have survived the killing curse, only one to defeat Lord Voldemort, already the Wizarding World's hailed saviour, was left to rot in the hands of muggle _filth_.

Hours flew by as she stood there in shock, hands moving without her conscious will as part of her absently tried to unravel the nature of the ward. The crying had stopped but she noticed it not. Eventually it seemed she blinked and the sun had long since set, with the conditions of the ward mostly laid out before her in traces lingering in the air.

Nothing with magic could pass the ward if they had any ill will towards the babe. Some subtler protections would be extended to him if he passed the boundaries, but that was it.

That was it. She or any other could pay some muggle to bring her the baby with faked goodwill, and once they were far away for long enough the protection would fall. Hell, she could probably walk through it herself once she satisfied the ward of her lack of ill intent.

It took her several careful attempts, all abandoned at the first sign of rejection lest the ward warn those that set it of intrusive attempts, but Bellatrix won through in the end with a binding Vow not to harm the boy in anyway until sunrise. She could feel the tentative acceptance of the ward as it peeled back to allow her entry, but it stayed bubbled around her like a second skin, ready to expel her as soon as the dawn broke.

The door opened silently and shut behind her with a flick of her wand and she stalked through the house, nose wrinkled in distaste. She found the master bedroom and sneered at the filthy couple. Thoughts of their blood painting the walls idly danced through her mind as she left to explore the rest of the house. She climbed the stairs and identified the only inhabited room with a silent spell. Toys and bright colours assaulted her as soon as she entered the room; the child was clearly spoiled beyond belief.

The cot held the fattest, ugliest baby she had ever beheld, but it was not the one she sought; there was no scar and everyone knew what the Potter boy looked like from the pictures in the Prophet. Where was Potter? She had cast the spell on every room and found only the three ugly muggles, yet she could taste young magic flowing, it had to be his.

"_Homenum Revelio_" she gave in and whispered aloud. Maybe she was losing her touch... But no. A fourth presence swooped over her and she quickly made her way out and down the stairs, following the sense of human presence.

Bellatrix stopped dead in her tracks at what she beheld.

There, under the staircase, was a smallish cupboard. Behind it danced the magic of a young wizard, no more than a baby, barely over a year old, sleeping. In. A. Fucking. _Cupboard_.

Again she lost track of time as her rage swept over her. She would keep them and everyone responsible in agony, the likes of which was yet unknown to time itself, for decades and decades before finally showing them exactly how much blood it took to paint a room, perhaps using their flesh for brushes.

Again it was the cry of a baby that brought her back to the world. Not loud and piercing like last time, but soft and somehow melancholy, as if the babe knew what had befell its parents and itself. Instantly she knew the other cry had been the fat muggle brat upstairs. A wave of her hand had the area warded against sound even as she put her wand away and opened the door.

It was dark and filthy and crawling with spiders and creeping things, and she recoiled from the idea that anyone could do this to a baby. Another wave had the small creatures vanished. On the ground atop some kind of cloth lay a pale babe, whimpering and calling softly for something he knew not. Dark black hair was not yet long enough to hide the cursed mark on his forehead, nor the brilliant green eyes that had already seen so much. The babe was small, far too small, and something inside her cried out as she felt and knew he hadn't been fed since he had been left here.

Bellatrix hesitated before the baby, completely unsure and lost. His skin and hair were exactly as she pictured her own child, even his face had something of her family's noble features. But his eyes were so green, never in all their line had a child had green eyes. Never in all existence had a child had such eyes. It made her freeze, made her stop, made her stare.

Then he stared back.

Their eyes met and the boy quieted, seeming to drink in her very soul. Eventually she blinked and broke the contact, whatever it was, for a moment, and the boy cried softly once more. That same sensation stabbed through her and suddenly she was kneeling and had the babe held in her arms. Soft sounds and meaningless words came from her lips as the small warmth from him soaked through her, washing over her like a slow tide in ever growing little waves.

The baby was hungry and it was perfectly natural that she feed him. Her clothing was not suited for feeding so she simply cut it away from her chest with a careless flicker of magic. It never crossed her mind that she might not be able to feed him, to produce milk, and it never crossed his mind that there might not be food there.

She watched his beautiful little face as she held him with both hands and guided his small little mouth to her nipple, and swooned as he latched on. Power grew and raced through her veins even as milk and magic flowed from her now-full breast. It was exhilarating and exhausting at once.

She could feel him drawing magic from her very essence, from the core of her power, and yet she felt more swelling up somehow to replace it. The sensation of his lips suckling from her breast was beyond description, and yet paled in comparison to the raw energy flooding every part of her, somehow pulled from her core. It travelled through her to return but divert to her breast where it filled the baby still drinking away, yet instead of draining it was constantly being refilled and leaving her to glory in the unbelievable power shifting through her.

The flow of milk and power seemed to suddenly slow to a stop before either she or the baby was finished, and she almost wept before the dull ache in her other breast announced itself. She carefully moved the precious babe in her arms and guided his eager mouth to her other nipple, and a low sound escaped her as the flow of magic resumed.

Bellatrix had no idea how this was happening, or even what exactly was happening, but she was addicted even before it had fully started. Wave upon wave of power and pleasure rushed from and through her even as she felt the growing presence of the babe's magic. He was feeding off her very magic and yet somehow replenishing it, growing it only to drink his fill and regrow it again. The world had shifted in that first moment, nothing was more precious than this baby, and nothing more pleasurable or powerful as feeding him.

Slowly but surely the flow decreased and she felt empty and full at the same time. She wanted the feeling to continue, and yet she felt complete, at ease somehow. The babe had fallen asleep in her arms with his little hand still held against her breast, and she smiled softly down at him.

"You are the most beautiful, the most precious babe in the world, and I will keep you forever."

She bent and kissed his forehead, not even noticing his scare, before sighing quietly with content and absolute satisfaction. Nothing else mattered except keeping this baby. Keeping him safe and fed and happy, and just keeping him.

A wave of her hand repaired her dress and removed the ward against sound. She frowned and then wandlessly transfigured the dirty rags covering the babe into soft, warm black fabric. Later she would realise with shock the ease of this transfiguration without her wand, but for now it barely registered. She stood as high as the tiny cupboard allowed her and carried the sleeping baby out, leaving the dirty blanket behind.

What to do now? If she simply left with him it would no doubt alert Dumbledore and who knew how many others. _Maybe_...

A smirk crossed her face, then fell into a frown. She would have to cause the babe some slight pain for this to work, but it would not harm him and would allow them to live happily together for years to come. Even the ward around her seemed to agree as it pulled back to fade into passive waiting, recognising that she meant its charge no harm. That decided her.

Bellatrix went upstairs once more, moving with even more grace and care this time, and entered the overly bright room of the muggle pig. It didn't seem right to place her new favourite being next to such filth even for a moment, but it had to be done. She gestured and her favourite fell deeper into slumber where no pain could be felt, and then she vanished the fat pig's clothing. A small silver knife made the quickest of slices over the beautiful babe's foot, healing it just as quickly behind it and gathering barely three drops of blood on its edge. One drop was placed on the fat one's forehead, one above its heart, and the last over its lips.

Muttered words and intricate gestures over the pig caused it to slowly morph into the image of his better, even leaving a trace of her beloved's magic. Such was the power of blood magic. Even as quick and unprepared as this ritual had been, it still had great power and would fool many for a long time. Though it failed to mimic the curse-scar...

She had too much fun fixing this oversight.

Bellatrix removed the charmed sleep from her beloved and carried him down the stairs for the last time and then into the disgusting excuses for humans' room. Memory charms were tricky things if you wanted to do them right, even more so to hide them, but she had the entire spectrum of magic to call upon and it became simple.

_Their son had died of some illness prior to receiving Harry Potter, they don't talk about it, in fact they would decide to go through the house and remove all evidence of their son and hide it somewhere before forgetting about it._

A wicked smile crossed her face.

_They resented being reminded of their loss, and would take it out on the new boy and each other with ever growing hatred. Eventually, a decade or so later when the blood magic wore off, they would remember that their son wasn't dead, realise what they had done, before slicing themselves apart and setting the house on fire around them while clinging to their son, holding him down as they bled to death wailing until they all burned alive._

Rather satisfied, if still annoyed that she couldn't inflict their pain herself, Bellatrix replaced her wand and left the house carrying her precious cargo. The true beauty of her little blood trickery lay not in the fact that it left them thinking her beloved still there with them physically, but in the way it tied in with the blood wards as well. The old bastard Dumbledore and anyone else monitoring the more subtle magicks of the area would detect nothing amiss.

Just before she carried the babe across the blood ward, Bellatrix stilled. Where to go now? She obviously couldn't take the Wizarding world's saviour near any of her fellow Death Eaters; they would try to kill him and she wouldn't allow that, or they would listen and then want him for themselves, and she wouldn't allow that at all. Her Harry was too special.

So she calculated her options even as she layered protection over protection upon her still sleeping charge. She would have to take him home first, to Lestrange Manor to collect some of her more useful items. If she was lucky the men wouldn't have returned yet. Strange how they had gone from annoying yet useful allies to mere hindrances and possible threats. Never mind.

Babe now secure against any harm, Bellatrix wrapped him against her chest with summoned cloth before obscuring the faint traces of her magic that lingered in the area. Even the almighty Dumbledore would have difficulty discovering much less unraveling the magics done here.

Finally crossing the blood ward was somehow disappointing. She had expected it to react somehow, at least give a twinge to show it realised its true charge had left its protection, but nothing happened. A silent Up command had her borrowed broom float towards her and then they were off. Twisting this way and that way allowed her to reach around and muffle her trail with much more caution than usual, one hand needlessly curled around the babe even though he was most definitely secure there.

An hour passed, then two, before she was ready to consider using her portkey. Unlike apparition, travel by portkey was perfectly safe thanks to the use of an outside physical object and the more precise nature of the magic. This was no will-driven harnessed accident, this was planned and controlled and safe to use with a baby.

Somehow she had forgotten that the bastards hadn't actually apparated with her precious Harry.

Higher and higher she flew, letting the broom take them as high as it could and then forcing her magic through it to make it fly higher still. Then with a whisper and a touch of her wand, she finished the incomplete portkey inside the kitchen knife she kept for... _fun_, and they were gone.

Miles upon miles away, they appeared with a flash in a small forest clearing. The stolen broom was vanished with a very useful dark variation of the standard spell that allowed larger, less common stuffs to be removed from existence, and Bellatrix cautiously made her way out of the forest.

A large manor seemed to suddenly appear as if grown from the earth just like the dark trees surrounding it, and the woman sighed in relief. Were the men, she refused to call the fools anything meaningful, already at the manor it would have been there and not just then appeared. Such was the power protecting the Lestrange manor; it only existed when those tied in to its bloodline, or those added by them, were nearby or willed it to. Much better than most silly wards, in her opinion.

Bellatrix quickly made her way through the grand entranceway without bothering to open the doors. Tied in as she was to the protections, the doors merely swirled into smoke before solidifying behind her. She was barely inside before she called out.

"Tinker!" With a small pop, the house elf appeared and bowed low, knowing his Mistress didn't care for idle words unless the mood struck her. Which was not often. So he remained bowed and silent as he waited for her commands. "Pack my things, all of them, and everything my husband and his brother own and bring them here ready for travel. And do the same for everything in the nursery. And everything else worth taking, I suppose."

Tinker's eyes bulged even larger at that but he bowed lower and popped away to follow her instructions. Could it be that his Mistress was with child? Another Lestrange to finally secure the line? But it was not his place to ask, so the small elf went about his work with magical efficiency. Such was the protection and warding around the bundled babe that even the unusual magic of elves could not detect him.

Meanwhile Bellatrix went through the manor shrinking and packing everything of worth to her. Some things were valuable, others useful or rare, and some few were simply rather sentimental. For some reason she had the feeling this would be the last time she graced the manor with her presence. It was... oddly satisfactory. She had never truly lived here, much less call it home. It was her husband's home and ever since the curse on her wedding day, it had been more like a bad dream than a place to live.

A vengeful former lover of Rodolphus' had gleefully taken her revenge even as they finalised their vows. He had realised exactly what the curse was and knew it would be impossible to dodge or block it with no wand in his hand. Rather than suffer it he had pulled his new wife in to shield himself. Any chance of her having children died that day, as had their fledgling romance. The bitch had died quickly, even enraged as she had been Bellatrix knew the curse had not been meant for her.

That night, what should have been her wedding night with all it entailed, a very young Bellatrix had to stun her husband to ward off his amorous advance. To her mind, he had forfeited his right to her body when he pulled her into the path of that curse. Where before she had dreamed of growing to care for him, now she loathed him and yet could do little about it. They were married and her womb was cursed, none would take her even if she were 'sadly' widowed. She would have to make do, as countless purebloods had done before her.

So she had delved into her husband's mind and used the knowledge gained there to place a powerful and complex ongoing memory charm upon him. Every time he grew lustful and sought her out, he would perceive her where she was not and end up ruining his sheets while she either ignored him or looked on and scoffed. The memories she had gained of his past conquests had overwhelmed her seventeen year old mind with disgust and curiosity, though she was not nearly curious enough to allow her 'dear' husband to actually touch her.

She had of course immediately cursed her husband's seed, though he didn't know it. It would not do for him to sire some bastard to carry on his line without her.

So she comforted herself and locked away her dreams of beautiful pale babies. No chance of adopting, not into a proper pureblood line such as theirs. One day she and her husband would perform a dark ritual to create life from their blood, but the permanent cost of power was so great that even she had admitted it was best to wait until they were stronger and the war was over.

Dark rituals that required sex, blessings and empowerment ceremonies that she had intended to do with her husband were first abandoned, then later adapted. She would not lay with another man while she was still married, their contract was no laughing matter and she was rather soured towards men in general, but it had said nothing of women.

So she had altered the rituals and proceeded with witches not likely to be missed. The power and pleasure brought on by such acts had made her forget for a time her pain, but afterwards when she came back to her self she was almost sickened and without fail disposed of her one-time lover. Besides, if she could not have a meaningful tie with her husband it would be folly to form such powerful ties with others and let them live. Such magic was not to be taken lightly.

After the first time, she purposefully chose muggleborn witches to make it easier on herself. After the second, she started looking into rituals that required death; no sense in wasting all that blood.

And then she was Marked.

Between apprenticing with her master and learning from him, following his orders, training, running her household small as it was, and experimenting with magic, Bellatrix had grown powerful and developed a subtle understanding of magic. She could taste the differences in magics, feel lingering traces where others couldn't detect any, and literally see the power rolling off her lord. Sometimes, in her deepest thoughts, she wondered if even the Dark Lord, for all his might, could sense magic as she could. It did not matter though. His power was beautiful and she would do almost anything to be allowed near it, to feel it flow with pleasant emotions as she brought back good news of success.

That his teachings let her own power grow was no small matter, either. She would likely never be as strong as him, even as he had been when she first saw him, even if his strength grew no more. But it was enough that she could become his shadow, become strong enough to stand by his side and bask in his power. Besides, she agreed with his ideals. Of course she would follow this Dark Lord, to the very end.

But if she was not mistaken, that end had been several days ago.

Oh, she knew he had taken steps to achieve immortality, even had guesses as to what some of the rituals had been, but he had been vanquished by the babe in her arms, and it had been more than three days. The ritual effects on his body had been such that no matter how damaged, no matter how weak, his body would be restored fully before the third day had passed. His body was strong and brimming with magic, it should have been all but impossible to destroy it.

And yet he had been obliterated.

No trace of his corpse remained, no trace of his living magic remained. The Dark Lord, her master, was dead. He might still exist in some form, in fact it was more likely than not considering the object he had placed in her care, but he was without a doubt technically dead.

At the hands of a _baby_.

A baby that she was even now carrying around her house as she stripped it of everything worth keeping. Somehow it didn't seem like a betrayal at all. Eventually the house had been well and truly ransacked and properly stored away into four large trunks, which were then themselves shrunk and secreted away in her pockets. Who said the dark arts was all about pain and death? Even Dumbledore wouldn't be able to store so much away in so small a space without dark magic. A full ancient bloodline's manor worth of belongings, many so seeped in generations of magic they resisted virtually all external magic, now barely filled her pocket.

"Thank you for your help, Tinker. _Obliviate_!"

The elf's expression went completely slack, not that it was visible with him bowing so low. It was a shame he technically belonged to her husband, she could use a good house elf like him. But her husband would never give him up, so there was nothing else to do.

She left the manor without looking back to see it disappear in a swirl of smoke. Perhaps she should have kept the broom. No matter. A full minute is spent crafting an illegal portkey, complete with every tracking counter and obscuring spell she knew. No one would follow this trail, or even know it existed.

A final tap of her wand finished the spell and the pair disappeared from the face of the earth.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Please read and answer at quick question at the end for the next installment.**

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Bellatrix had always been rather paranoid, or prepared and alert as she liked to think it. From storing caches of sweets and valuables as a child, to having multiple safe houses across the globe as an adult, Bellatrix made sure she would never be without options.

The one she and her beloved babe had spent the last few weeks in was probably he favourite, in that she had never visited it before since making it. While most of her hidey-holes were stocked enough to last a few days and meet every basic need, this was her last and best safe house and its provisions reflected this. It was so far underground as to be ridiculously protected, and utterly inaccessible through any means save apparition and portkey, which were of course warded against any save her. That it was under a fidelius charm and every other protection she could imagine made it possibly the most secure location on earth. No living being save her knew of its existence, not even her master.

Now she was sharing it with another. Her master's slayer no less. And it was possibly the happiest time in her adult life. Maybe even better than her childhood too.

The cavern was fully furnished with rich carpet and beautiful wood panelled walls lit with magic, fresh air wafted in from minuscule portals wherever she liked. At the moment she was indulging in some sea breeze. The far wall and ceiling were recently enchanted to act as a magical window to whichever scene she willed; right now it matched the slight salt tang by showing the rolling sea, complete with calming sounds.

Bellatrix was lounging back in a soft armchair that rocked back and forth as she held the sleepy babe to her chest. The month spent here had been a dream and she wasn't sure it was worth waking. The last few years had been tiring and draining in more ways than one, and this quiet time filled with leisure and rest had soothed her body and soul.

The pleasure and joy brought by her precious babe might have influenced her decision to stay longer than a couple days slightly. Maybe more than slightly.

It was just so addictive! Never would she have imagined so small a being could draw such power from her. Within days she was capable of wandless magic more complex than she had thought possible. Transfiguration and conjuration, without a wand? Never had it been thought realistically possible and yet she had done it within moments of meeting him. From there it had progressed to the point that she only needed her wand for the more powerful, complex or directed third of her spells.

And the growth of her magic! It had grown by nearly half again, with no signs of stopping. Incredible spells that had always eluded her reach or utterly drained her now became almost easy. She would train until exhausted of all power then wait until the beautiful boy was hungry again, and be fully rejuvenated before he fell asleep with that darling satisfied smile.

She was almost tempted to try vanishing her milk from his stomach to get him hungry, but she sadly concluded it was better not to risk it. Even if it worked perfectly, which it wouldn't, she would likely end up in an eternal high feeding him constantly until she starved to death. And yet the thought still tempted her! Such was the potency of its pleasure.

So time passed. She trained, experimented, read from her massive library, ate from the stored food and relaxed during the many hours while the babe slept. When he was awake, she fed him as often as she could, enjoying each and every exquisite session. When he was full and not sleepy, she delighted in playing childish games with him. Accidental bouts of magic marked his nearly every waking hour, and she would laugh and croon soft encouragement, whispering lovingly of power and blood and glorious victories to come.

She had attempted to study his curse scar, how could she not? He was the only person to have survived the Killing Curse! It felt of the dark and broken power and something more, but then her precious had began crying and flinching away from her hand, so she stopped immediately and promised him and herself that she would leave it alone for now. It wasn't like it was hurting him, it tasted benign which was odd enough for dark magic.

The smallish area had been magically expanded several times to accommodate their lengthened stay. Two rooms became three became many. A shared bedroom, bathroom, training room, basic potions lab, sitting room, play room and library soon became their new home.

Harry's second birthday went by mostly unmarked, for he was much too young for any of the types of presents she would, or could, give him. So Bellatrix spent the day and the next week fulfilling virtually every immature whim he had. So not much of a difference from normal after all. They played slightly more often and she read him more books while he sat in her lap, stroking his little fingers through her hair or following her finger on the pages. Small charms and transfigured toys held his amusement a little less now, but she was growing very adept at giving little light shows for him to chase after on his miniature broom. It was his favourite toy by far.

Everything was simply perfect in their nice little hideaway.

Still, eventually reality made its ugly presence felt. The stored food had never been meant to last so long, and even with all the will in the world it couldn't be stretched indefinitely. Memories and concerns of some others, especially her sister Narcissa, began subtly worrying their way through to her. With the Dark Lord gone, for now at least, Lucius might be in Azkaban, leaving her sister out in the cold. Well, Cissy would never be so foolish as to be without options. Lucius was cunning enough besides. But still.

And what of Rodolphus? Surely he would be tearing the world apart looking for her by now, baying for her blood. It might be best to do something more permanent about that. The Ministry would be after her, too, and when they got their act together it was capable of astounding magics. True, they rarely achieved anything of real worth but the power their authority wielded in the old magics was dizzying. Traces, Taboos, Laws, real, binding Laws not their petty rules, and myriad other types and forms of magic that would be virtually impossible for anyone else became so simple for them. It was incredibly lucky that they had either lost, forgotten, or didn't want to use them, or the war would have been over within days.

Well, add in a few competent leaders too. But the potential was there. No wonder the Old Families had tried so hard to prevent it from forming when it became clear they would have so little actual authority. But by then it had been too late. Blinded by the potential of controlling the Wizengamot seats, none imagined the possibility of the seats being taken from them. But they had. Seats now went to those qualified and picked by the now empowered Minister, before being put to a vote by Wizengamot itself. Since the Minister could propose anything with ease and veto anything else just as simply, he had huge powers in the Ministry without taking into account anything else, let alone emergency powers.

Which all went to say that if they got their act together, she and her precious one would be discovered. She would have to get in contact somehow and either prevent such a thing from happening or be forewarned.

Even so, several more months went by as she procrastinated and lapped up every moment of pleasure. Food supplies were almost gone but it was Harry's development that finally made her acknowledge something must be done.

He was beginning to speak.

Technically he had spoken something like her name some time ago, but 'Billelleck!' wasn't exactly the way she wanted to remember her name. He still tripped over her full name, but he had been calling her Bella for some time now and it made her, surprisingly, exceedingly happy. Simple words were added to his vocabulary which seemed to grow far too quickly. He needed a proper primary education and she didn't remember enough of her own to feel confident about taking it entirely in her own two hands.

Which made her think of schooling. Which made her think of Hogwarts. Which made her have some sort of mild panic attack before she calmed herself down by offering her breast to the nuzzling boy and smiling as he happily latched on.

Of course he had to go to Hogwarts, virtually every decent witch or wizard went to Hogwarts. The education there provided a solid foundation for further studies, and its library by itself made it well worth it. And the opportunities for alliances were not something to forget, either. No, Harry would go to Hogwarts. As much as Durmstrang might posture and show off—to those in the right families, of course—it's dark arts classes, it was a lesser school.

Besides, she grinned to herself as she rocked back and forth gently, as if he would need any external help there! Not when he had her. She'd have to come up with some way to be near him for the seven years...

Bah, Hogwarts was years away and they had more pressing matters. Their food—well, her food since he had touched nothing but her milk and magic—was down to a weeks supply at most and that was already magically duplicated to the brink. They needed food, current information about the Ministry etc and maybe even some means of partially re-entering society. At least she was not widely known to be a Death Eater, outside of the pesky Order, unless someone had given her up.

Of course someone would have given her up, damn them. But what could she do? She still bore the Dark Lord's mark, faded though it was. Bellatrix pulled up her sleeve and scratched at it angrily, muttering under her breath.

"Bella? What dat?"

Startled, she stopped and looked up at the voice. Harry was waking up on her lap and eyeing the ugly tattoo for the first time. She had never shown him before, even when they bathed she would cover it with charms, glamours, cloth, anything. Somehow it just felt wrong to have been marked by the man who had tried to kill her precious. But how to answer?

"Bella?"

His voice had her explaining before she fully considered her answer. "It's a mark that a bad man put on me so he could find me wherever I go. I don't know how to get it off, but we are safe here my love. Don't worry about that."

Bellatrix watched his wonderfully bright green eyes frown as though contemplating matters beyond her ken, and then he moved a little clumsily forward as if to see it better. She allowed his curious little hand to wander but gasped as she felt her mark flare at his touch. Eye truly wide, she watched his face form a mask of concentration as he wiped his sleeve down her arm, as if to brush off mere dirt. Then she saw him smile that beautiful satisfied. As if all were once more right with the world.

"Harry?" It came out breathless and beyond confused.

He smiled again, beaming up at her and waved his cute little sleeve. "I gots'd it!"

If she had not already been sitting down, she would have fallen over. There, on his sleeve where it had no business being, was the Dark Mark. Specifically Her Dark Mark. Each had little things that made them unique, and that was definitely hers. She looked down at her arm, not daring to breathe, and saw for the first time in over a decade nothing but smooth, flawless skin. She was no longer a Death Eater.

"Harry! How did you do that?" He seemed to know that she was just surprised, not angry despite her raised voice, and smiled again waving his sleeve around.

"I wipeed id off!"

Of course he did. Two year old Harry Potter wiped off a Dark Mark with his fucking sleeve. Just like that. Incredible.

Perhaps she should say something about mortality? Maybe he'd kiss it better! Or the next diaper would have a Philosopher's Stone in it! Ha! Take that, Flamel! Still giggling slightly, she kissed her beloved's forehead.

"Well done, Harry! Such a clever boy my love is, so clever and strong. Thank you, my love. This helps us lots! But you have to keep this a secret, just for us, yes? We can't let other people know about our secrets, they're ours. Can I take your sleeve, Harry? I want to lock the bad mark away. Is that ok?"

He nodded in all the right places and held out his sleeve for her to take, exceedingly happy with himself for making her so happy. Maybe she had other marks he could wipe away too? Maybe he'd ask her tomorrow to space them out!

She wandlessly sliced the sleeve off without his skin so much as feeling a breeze and made a show of levitating it into one of the higher chests. The second it was out of sight she banished it a more secure location in her study, but he didn't need to know that. He had started toddling around and getting into everything, no point in risking it. Then she waved her hand in a very showy gesture to 'regrow' his sleeve, to which he laughed and applauded with those tiny hand of his.

"I think something like that deserves an extra meal, it must have taken a lot out of you my love. What do you think?"

He didn't need to think about his answer at all, and soon he was dozing again, full and content in her lap.

Well that changes things, she mused, idly stroking his hair and thinking late into the night.

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Very early the next day, Bellatrix had made her decision. She would visit her sister Narcissa, now before she lost her nerve. It was so strange that she seemed to have so much difficulty leaving this place, but she knew the real reason. She could not take Harry with her this time. For the first time since she laid eyes on him, she would be leaving him behind. Even if only for a time. So she steeled herself and rose from her bed.

A soft caress lulled the still sleeping Harry into a deeper sleep, he would not wake up until she returned. After a small breakfast and an abbreviated ablutions run, Bellatrix donned her favourite duelling clothes followed by a long hooded robe to hide behind. A small sigh escaped her as her complicated portkey spell finished with a small glow around one of Harry's old dummies, and then she was gone.

She appeared right on the edge of the Malfoy wards with her wand drawn but held low, and quickly stepped through the invisible barriers. Sighing inwardly with relief when everything appeared alright, she continued forward towards the back of the manor. Her left hand made subtle gestures in front of her as she went, testing the wards and path in front of her for anything malicious or out of place, more out of habit than any sense of wrong.

Soon she reached the manor and found herself at a loss. What should she do now? She had expected something to have happened by now. Surely she couldn't simply walk in? Where were they?

Oh. Of course.

Cissy had always been a clever one. And very subtle, too.

"I claim entrance by right of blood." Her silver knife bit into her right forearm, healing the wound seconds after it caused it. Bellatrix let the blood flow down to her palm and trickle onto her fingertips before she used her fingers to draw her personal mark onto the door. The blood seeped from her arm into the building without leaving a trace behind. It worked.

The door sprang open granting her entrance to the manor, and she strode in as proud as ever. If Narcissa had used blood magic it meant things were dire, yet not so dire as to resort to truly dark magics. The manor was warded against intruders, letting visitors think it abandoned, yet the wards were keyed to accept blood relations or those who could claim allegiance and swear it on their blood. Not the move of the truly desperate. Things were not so bad, apparently.

"Cissy! Come out already! Surely you do not mean to leave your dearest older sister out in hall? Cissy!"

Then with a small pop appeared a hurried looking house elf. Bellatrix stared at it without recognition, the Malfoys had always kept more servants than most thought necessary. This included the at least half dozen diminutive creatures.

"M-mistress Malfoy will be with you shortly. Would Mistress Lestrange like food while she waits?"

Ahh, she remembered him now. "No, thank you Dobby. How are you liking your service of this house?" It was obvious from his small shakes and half-hidden bruises that Lucious was abusing him, proving once more that he was unworthy of her sister. Still, Cissy was able to take care of herself and her choices were her own.

Early life had taught her the usefulness of house elves. Kreacher had been of great use in sneaking her out and in smuggling her the more dangerous texts, amongst other things. How the wizarding world underestimated them continually confused her, the creatures had unusual power that bypassed many magical laws; one only had to learn their own laws and limits and then much became possible.

She watched as amazement came over the poor creatures face and he began to ramble about how bad his master treated him, interspersed with various attempts to punish himself that she prevented easily with her magic, thus winning him over even more. Now she was no longer simply Mistress Lestrange, but Kind and Gracious and even Good. Such pitiable creatures.

She listened and made appropriate sounds of commiseration and agreement, until it was time for her next move. This was so much easier than winning Kreacher over, this Dobby must be truly starved for affection.

"If I manage to get ownership of you from your current masters, would you like to come serve my house instead?"

His answer came just as expected, if a little more violently happy. Well. He would certainly be a loyal and willing servant. Maybe she should find out what became of Kreacher, two was better than one after all...

"Bella! Where have you been!?"

Dobby faded from view as Narcissa entered the room, still dressed in her shimmering silver nightgown that went so well with her hair. She was utterly beautiful, a perfect mirror of Bellatrix herself, fair to her dark. But on closer inspection she was tired and drawn, dark circles beneath her eyes and a dimness to her skin that went beyond any level of exhaustion Bellatrix had ever seen in her sister.

"Cissy, what's wrong? Are you ill?"

A negative hand motion. "I'm fine, but with everything going on and baby Draco, sleep has been hard to come by. But what of you? Where have you been all this time? I thought you had died!"

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**Please review with any thoughts you have! Reviews help!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for all your reviews and suggestions! It was most helpful. Reviews inspire me and let me write faster! This would have taken much longer without the benefit of such wonderful feedback!**

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"Calm down Cissy! I'm fine. I've merely... been distracted with a project lately and have spent the last few months working in solitude. But what has happened to _you?"_

Narcissa took a deep breath and visibly calmed down. "They took Lucius! Almost everyone has been captured and is on trial, even your husband, Rabastan and Crouch's brat. They came for Lucius here, in our own home! He had to claim he was under the Dark Lord's Imperious curse, and they're asking for more and more gold or they'll have him _Kissed_!"

Another deep breath.

"Your husband's little group decided to go and look for the Dark Lord, by torturing Aurors, the fools. The Longbottoms, the two top Aurors, can you believe it? If the Dark Lord failed to kill the Potter boy, it's obviously him, not the other. They managed to hold them for all of two minutes before they were beaten back and captured. Tried on the same day and sent to Azkaban for life. Crouch didn't bat an eye, threw them all away within minutes. I'm not sure wether to be sad or happy for you, considering."

There wasn't much they kept from each other. Bellatrix smiled at her sister reassuringly.

"Definitely happy, sister. But what of you? I know you were still hoping for a love-match." It escaped Bellatrix as to why, but then Lucius apparently wasn't as bad as Rodolphus, and her sister was a romantic.

Narcissa avoided eye contact for a time and gave a small nod, smile gone. Bellatrix sighed. "Cissy... I hate to say it but I think it might be too late for that. If Lucius goes to Azkaban you won't see him again, not really. And if he bankrupts you bribing his way out, only to have the stigma of it over his head, tainting you and your son as well for the rest of your lives, wouldn't that be worse? And it would bankrupt you to bribe his way out, he carries the Mark for goodness sake. And if Crouch can throw away his own son... Cissy, I think it's over."

Narcissa ran into her sister's arms and cried. A waved wand conjured a familiar comfortable lounge behind them and Bellatrix brought her sister to sit down with her, stroking her hair and murmuring soothing sounds. This was not the first time she had comforted her sister, nor would it be the last. There was almost a routine to it by now. Hold her tight, stroke her hair, whisper soft words, and then reassure with logic and support.

"Cissy, shhh, it'll be ok. You will be better off without him, yes? You are young and beautiful and powerful, you can find someone else for a love-match. You will have the Malfoy wealth, and you have your son, Draco. Now he'll be all yours. I can be his godmother, if you like. I'll help you with him whenever you need. Shhh, that's right Cissy. Everything's fine. There, not so bad, is it?"

Narcissa pulled back a little and gave her a watery smile. "Oh Bella, how did it all go wrong? The Dark Lord was so powerful- yet he was beaten by a mere baby! They say he'll grow up to be a champion of the Light, slaughtering us all. Or that he'll be the next Dark Lord. He survived the Killing Curse! He must have some incredibly powerful magics already."

Bellatrix couldn't hold back her grin. "Don't worry about that, it's part of my project."

Narcissa pulled back as if struck, and paled even further. "Bella! Tell me you aren't trying to revive the Dark Lord!"

The older sister, tilted her head and raised a single eyebrow. That would have been treachery not so long ago, and many would consider it so even still. Anyone who was anyone knew the Dark Lord had experimented with immortality and had doubtless made it possible to recall his spirit or some such thing.

The younger sister scrambled to defend herself. "I mean, necromancy is dangerous! You shouldn't get involved in magics so black. There-"

"Cissy... Why don't you want to Dark Lord back?"

Bellatrix found herself curious. It was true that she didn't want her old master back either, but she had a reason: Harry. There was no way her old master would let the boy live, let alone with her. And Harry was precious to her, more important than virtually everything else. But Cissy didn't have Harry, so what reason did she have for this blatant dislike?

"I- I- I don't think he cares about pure-bloods. I think he's just after power. Did you see him in the last great battle? There must have been a half-dozen Old Families lined up against him, and he slaughtered them all, without offering surrender, without hesitation! More Old Lines have been ended by him than any other, even the old Blood Feuds."

She paused, as if considering how to say what she wanted. Then her voice dipped lower.

"And remember cousin Regulus? Quiet, proud, kindly Regulus. They say he tried to get out, and that the Dark Lord made him scream for days before finally killing him. He served the Dark Lord loyally as soon as he came of age, arguably even before, and yet _He_ did such a thing... Bella, I think He would have killed us all, in the end."

Bellatrix nodded slowly. Her little sister made a fair point, one she had not really considered before. She could come up with almost a dozen Old Families the Dark Lord had utterly destroyed for opposing him, just off the top of her head. Far too many for someone supposedly trying to preserve their way of life. There were less Old Families now than there had ever been!

Besides, it lined up rather well with her own wishes. Yes, it would be best to let Narcissa think such things. So she nodded in agreement, ignoring her sister's relieved sigh, and quietly answered.

"I agree. For one supposedly protecting the Old Ways, he has come closer to wiping us out than any other. Do not worry, I am not trying to bring Him back."

Her voice dropped even lower, and she double checked the privacy wards, catching her sister's eye.

"Far from it in fact."

Those few words had Narcissa's eyes wide with shock, before she mutely nodded.

"Now, Cissy, tell me who exactly is demanding your money, and we will decide what to do."

The next few hours were spent in earnest discussion, with Dobby bringing them refreshments whenever they wished. Narcissa soon agreed with her persuasive older sister that any hope of a love-match with Lucius was gone. All he could do now was bring debt and ruin upon their house; it was better to cut him off. So she would not pay any bribes, and would in fact secretly testify against him to ensure he did not wheedle his way out of life in Azkaban. It would be troubling to have him come back after a number of decades in that hell, so better to make sure it was for life.

Then of course a visit to Gringotts to ensure the family vaults could not be accessed by him, just in case. A formal document, proof of Lucius' life imprisonment from a guilty trial, a large fee and a gift of something Goblin made would see everything settled shortly, and she would be Narcissa Black once more.

Most of the time was spent going over her exact performance for when she testified against Lucius. It would have to be convincing, hold up to veritaserum, and neatly tie up any chance of her being accused as well. Neither were particularly worried on that front; they were both very good actors. Some preemptive planning with veritaserum antidote would help as well.

It was eventually settled. Narcissa would go in that same day and testify in secret before Crouch and a witness, likely Dumbledore or some other like him. The trial would be brought forward on the new evidence, Lucius would be put away, and then Narcissa would visit Gringotts to finish everything in a neat little bow.

That Bellatrix planned a slightly more permanent solution to their ex-husband problem went without saying.

They stood to leave, and Bellatrix ordered one last glass of sweet wine before she went, and Dobby appeared, helpful as ever.

"That reminds me, Cissy. I could use a house elf. May I have Dobby?"

Narcissa considered this quickly but shrugged elegantly and agreed. It was no great loss, they had other elves. "Of course. Dobby, you now belong to my sister, Bellatrix. Do you understand?"

Dobby squeaked with delight and bobbed his head many times. "Oh yes Mistress Narcissa Malfoy, Dobby understands and agrees. Dobby now serves Kind Mistress Bellatrix."

They both ignored everything he said after that. The little thing really could ramble, but he was a very devoted house elf and would serve her well.

"Good luck, Cissy. You won't need it."

They embraced at the front door, and Bellatrix held her sister a little closer and a little tighter to comfort her.

"Farewell, Bella. Oh, and wear your ring!"

Back when they had been very young, Bellatrix had charmed a matched trio of rings. By stroking the black gem it would send a pulse through the other rings and let the others know they wanted to talk. Bellatrix had made them when Narcissa had been lonely being left behind as her older sisters went to Hogwarts before her. So she would stroke her ring and let her know she was thought of, and when their littlest sister sent three pulses, she and Andromeda would escape the school wards and sneak home for a quick visit.

They hadn't worn the rings in years. Not since Andy had run off with the mudblood.

Bellatrix smiled and nodded. "I'll come visit you tomorrow to hear how well everything went, and to visit little Draco. Bye for now, Cissy."

And with that she left the manor and disappeared with the blue glow of a portkey.

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Narcissa left Gringotts feeling like the weight of the world had let her shoulders. Everything had gone perfectly. Her testimony had been moving, leaving more than a few witches and even wizards in tears. Unfortunately she had to testify before the whole Wizengamot, but it went even better than expected. Veritaserum was administered half-heartedly, and with a sealed capsule of the antidote concealed as a tooth, she was able to answer the damning questions as she liked.

She had not wanted to reveal that anyone bearing the Dark Mark were His inner circle and in no way under duress, but Bellatrix had insisted and been oddly gleeful about it. So it was that the Ministry now had 'proof' that many of the possible Death Eaters were in fact absolutely guilty. It was even true.

Lucius was convicted and condemned to Azkaban for life that same hour, not knowing what new evidence was found against him, or that his wife watched the trial from the shadowy visitor section. He was dragged away swearing vengeance upon everyone and everything he could think of.

She would never have to see him again, and his imprisonment was as good as a death certificate. She was free to marry for whatever she wished, with anyone she wished, and had access to the entire Malfoy fortune.

Gringotts had been as difficult at first as expected, but the very offical paperwork, large fee and gift of a Goblin made bracelet soon had Lucius barred from ever accessing the Malfoy vaults. She was tempted to have them renamed as her personal vaults, but thought the Malfoy name might yet be useful and decided to keep it for now.

A quick visit to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and she was indulging in the sweet frozen confectionary as she hadn't since she was a little girl. It tasted better than she remembered. So she bought some extra for her little Draco, and apparated back home.

The very second she appeared she knew something was terribly terribly wrong. Icecream dropped without a thought, she stroked her ring with her thumb many times as she ran towards the manor. That the door was open nearly had her in tears, but she held on and kept her wand out straight.

The house was a wreck. Blasting and burning curses marred every surface she could see, and she silently cast the _Homenum Revelio_ charm. No one was home except her.

Not even Draco.

And then she knew. And then she wept.

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Bella was just about to feed her beloved when her ring pulsed rapidly. This was not good. She stroked Harry's precious forehead and lulled him to sleep with a wandless spell. She could not take him to see this, whatever it was. It would not be safe.

Another illegal portkey brought her instantly near the Malfoy manor, and she could tell at a glance that some of the wards had been broken. She rushed forward, flinging herself through the air with her left hand while keeping her wand ready to strike down the first thing to make her twitch wrong. Then she saw her sister on her knees, weeping, and knew it was already too late.

She cast the same spell that her sister had mere moments before, and reached the same conclusion. Wards were quickly erected around the house, temporary measures until they could decide what to do. Then she went through the house towards the nursery, noting in some distant part of her mind that the more valuable objects around the house had been removed. It reminded her of her own exodus, and she bit back the thought viciously.

She was nothing like Lucius.

The nursery was quiet, and the bodies of two house elves were lying before it as if sleeping on the floor. At least they had tried, it would have been better if they had succeeded. Inside the room lay another elf, this one bloodied and unrecognisable. The reason for the mutilation made itself clear with the wet writing on the wall.

_I know it was you. You took something from me, so I took something from you. The next time you see him, he will kill you and dance on your bloodied corpse, and we will both laugh._

Dramatic as always, damn him.

"Dobby." The poor elf appeared and gasped. She ignored his reactions and moved on. "I need you to bury them, but leave everything else. Narcissa will need to see this. Lucius, your old master, has kidnapped her son and done this. After you finish here you are to prepare us food and then try to find Draco or Lucius without risking yourself. If you can, bring Draco here. You are free to kill Lucius if you think you can, but I do not expect it to be possible. He will have taken measures against this. Just- try, please."

Dobby nodded silently and went to his grisly work. Bellatrix made her way back down the stairs to find her sister just starting to come up.

"Cissy..."

Words failed her. Narcissa shook her head and pushed past her, determined to see for herself even though she _knew_. The message in blood struck Narcissa to her core, and she swayed where she stood. Her sister caught her and took her back away from the room, conjuring the lounge once more and holding her fast. There were no words this time, just silent tears and loud cries.

Hours flew by with Narcissa switching between weeping and raging. Finally she exhausted herself and fell into a fitful sleep on her sister's shoulder. Bellatrix stroked her forehead and ensured it would dreamless and deep slumber, not knowing what else she could do. This was worse than anything she had thought could happen. How could the Ministry fail so terribly, to let a convicted inner circle Death Eater escape from full custody?

A bitter taste welled up inside her mouth as she fought back the realisation that it was partly her fault. If Narcissa hadn't followed her lead in testifying, Lucius wouldn't have done this. It was his fault, and the Ministry's for letting him escape, but even so she couldn't fight the feeling she was to blame for her sister's distress. For her nephew's plight.

She gently laid her sister down and summoned blankets and a pillow to make her more comfortable. Then the whole lounge was carefully levitated to a guest room that held no reminders of anything.

Bellatrix then quietly left the room, placing more warding around it, and called for Dobby.

He appeared with a small pop and a sad expression. He could not find his old master, nor the small boy. They were warded against detection and none of the places he checked held a trace of them. Bellatrix sighed. She had not expected him to find anything, but she had hoped that Lucius had overlooked something. No such luck. If someone truly skilled wanted to hide, and used dark arts to do so, there was very little to be done to find them. The dark arts had many more ways to avoid detection than to seek someone out. Some of the names for the dark arts were literally 'the hidden places'. Shrouding something from view was much easier than revealing it.

What to do now? They would alert the Ministry, and maybe put out a bounty on his head and for the safe return of Draco, but it would likely come to nothing. Strategically, this was not a terribly thing except that another enemy was out there, but emotionally for Cissy this was a terrible loss. Her son was most of her reason for living, after all. She had always wanted a baby...

And Bellatrix had a baby, didn't she? That might actually work.

She ordered Dobby to move through the manor and make a list of everything missing, and made her way to one of the studies. Parchment and a dictation quill let her compose a note without a trace of her magic or her handwriting. She plainly explained what had happened, and then ordered Dobby to owl it express to the Ministry.

In the way of all important matters, the response came within moments. The Ministry sent its regrets, expresses its sorrow, _blah blah blah_, and explained that Lucius had been smuggled his wand by an underpaid guard who was promised riches and gained a quick death. Crabbe and Goyle had also been freed and the three had escaped not an hour ago, not missed in all the comings and goings of processing so many Death Eaters.

Their names and likenesses would be put out on wanted posters, and combined with the conviction and the kidnapping, Lucius would be the most wanted wizard on the planet.

For all the good it would do.

Her next letter went to a rather well known pawn shop in a disreputable alley. It was short and to the point. The convicted Lucius Malfoy's head was wanted, separate from its body, for ten thousand galleons and a favour from the Blacks. Draco Malfoy was wanted, whole, alive, unharmed and returned to his mother, for twice that much and two favours from the Blacks.

The money would attract the attention of mercenaries and opportunists everywhere, and the favours would keep their attention like nothing else. The Blacks were not a family to be ignored, and a favour from them was potentially priceless. The possibility of three would have the darker side of the Wizarding world scrambling over themselves to get at Lucius. Especially since he was a wanted man and they wouldn't get in much trouble with the law for killing him.

Dobby displayed a rather new vindictive streak with his smile when he understood the contents of the second letter. He transported it himself and returned within moments, getting right back to listing the stolen items. So far it seemed like every dark object from the secret vaults, plus the stashes of gold and all the easily reached valuables of the house were gone.

It was rushed and poorly executed, missing several more valuable but less visible items that decorated the once resplendent manor, but along with the stashes of gold it would keep Lucius swimming in wealth for the rest of his wretched life. Bellatrix suspected it had been the work of Crabbe and Goyle, with Lucius gathering the dark artifacts, the gold, and Draco. Probably in that order, too. At least Narcissa had sealed the family vaults against him. If he had the wealth there as well, nothing they did would be able to touch him. He could have literally thrown gold at anything they sent after him.

Now though his options were more limited. He would eventually be found and brought down. The problem was it could still take a long time. A very long time if Lucius laid low. And being the snake that he was, laying low was something he was very, very good at. The bounty on him would merely force him to keep to ground.

Bellatrix sighed and went to check on her sister. Still fast asleep. Maybe she would be better coming with her? She pondered her options for a while, reluctant to share her secret place even with her sister. Even more reluctant to share her Harry with anyone. But Cissy needed the help only he could give, so she gave in with a sigh and drew her silver knife once more. She was starting to hate it after all this use.

A slash gave her the blood she needed, and she drew her mark over Narcissa's forehead. The blood sank through her skin with a brief glow of magic, and now the more potent wards would accept her. She called out some more instructions for Dobby to tidy the house up and keep a lookout for Lucius, and then held her sister tight and the two disappeared with a blue flash.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! Some of you, you know who you are, have been a great help in making this story better, so thank you!**

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Bellatrix and Narcissa appeared with a blue flash less than a foot above her bed, sending them bouncing on the comfortable mattress and waking the younger sister up to a world of tangled confusion. Her face, so beautifully matching her sister's, contorted in alarm as her long silver-blonde tresses whipped about her in jerky motions, like falling stars against the perfect black background of Bellatrix's hair.

"What- where- Bella?" The confusion rang out in her voice loud and clear, reminding her older sister that she was just past grown. At a mere twenty one years old, Narcissa was in many ways still very young. Every so often, like right now, it showed. Bellatrix comforted her sister with soothing touches whilst wandlessly casting mild calming and cheering charms.

"Shhh, its ok Cissy. We're at my safe house, we couldn't be more secure. There is a very special person I want you to meet. I think you'll find his company very pleasurable."

They rose from the bed together and Bellatrix watched her little sister subtly test the wards and protections while taking in her new surroundings. Her eyes widened at the number and power of the wards, making Bellatrix smile.

"Yes, I'm rather paranoid, I think. First now Cissy, I've taken several steps while you slept I should tell you about."

Narcissa listened quietly as Bellatrix outlined the measures she had taken, sending out Dobby, informing the Ministry and taking out the bounty on her husband's head. She nodded but didn't have anything to add on the topic; she knew just as well as Bellatrix how difficult, how unlikely it would be to find them.

Bellatrix then left her sister to explore while she went to wake up her beloved. He was sleeping soundly exactly where she had left him, light adorable snores keeping her from waking him for several moments. Eventually though she snapped out of it and brushed her hand over his forehead, bringing him out of his slumber.

"Harry, my love, there is someone here I want you to meet. She is my sister, Narcissa. We can call her Cissy. I love her very much and want you to cheer her up and make her feel good like you make me feel good, because a bad man has made her sad. Do you think you could do this for me?"

His wide green eyes shone with intelligence as he nodded, the last of his sleep leaving him. If Bella wanted him to make this Cissy feel better, he'd do it. Plus he was kinda hungry anyway. "Ok Bella, I'll make her feel good. Where is she? That way?"

Bellatrix startled a little then smiled down at him and pulled him up for a hug. "Yes, my clever boy. This way my love, here I'll carry you."

Even with all its expansions their safe house wasn't that large so it took no time at all to find Narcissa observing the enchanted wall. She turned to face Bellatrix before gawking at the child in her arms.

"Bella? Who is this?"

"Cissy, meet my darling beloved, Harry Potter. Harry, love, meet my sister Narcissa. I don't think she'll mind if you call her Cissy, too." He smiled happily at her at gave a little wave.

"Hi, Cissy! Bella wants me to make you feel good!"

The shock of it all had poor Narcissa falling over, and only Bellatrix's quick summoning charm brought a lounge behind her in time to catch her. She ended up sitting down with a silent exhalation of surprise, before she quickly came to herself and replied with years of tutoring and training.

"Hello, Harry. I'm Narcissa though you may call me Cissy, like my sister, Bella. How are you today?"

He smiled up at her as Bella set him down before her. He liked her! She looked just like his Bella, same elegantly pretty face and form, but with silvery blonde hair, and maybe a little younger. Bella was so nice and Cissy was her sister, and Bella said she was nice so in his young mind the universe had just doubled in good people, himself of course not counting as he wasn't old enough to be a real people just yet.

"I's good! Little bit hungry tho, Bella says I's meant to drink you- I mean feed from you?" He looked up at Bella a little uncertainly, unsure of wether he had said it right or not. Words were hard! And he'd never fed from anyone but Bella. Was this really ok? He wasn't sure he wanted to drink from someone not Bella, but Bella said so, asked him too, even... So it must be ok.

Bellatrix stayed kneeling behind Harry with a bemused smile. He was so eloquent, up until he wasn't. And then it was just even more adorable. Then again, the clever boy wasn't even three years old yet. Sometimes he made it easy to forget, the clever little boy.

"Yes, love. It's ok to drink from Cissy whenever she says so, ok? Just us two though, not anyone else. It's our little secret, right?"

He nodded complete agreement. "Right. Ok."

He padded forward on his little legs and clambered and climbed up the lounge to sit beside a very confused Narcissa. She looked at the little boy as though Harry might suddenly turn into a vampire and drain her blood, with all this talk of 'drinking' and 'feeding', what else was she to think? Had Bella been turned or enslaved? What was going on?

"Cissy doesn't understand yet, my love. She doesn't know how to feed you just yet so I'll explain it first, ok?" He nodded once more, sitting perfectly on the lounge beside a now very nervous Narcissa.

"Don't worry so much Cissy! He's no vampire. I'll tell you later about how I found him, but all you need to know right now is that he can somehow tap into your core and make your magic flow. He drinks it right in with your breast-milk, and somehow cultivates your core at the same time so it doesn't exhaust itself and leave him hungry. He drinks so much! See this?"

Bellatrix waved her left hand and conjured an intricately carved silver staff. Narcissa nearly gaped at such a display; precious metals were notoriously hard to conjure with any skill, and to do it without a wand was beyond what she thought possible of normal witches and wizards. Bellatrix continued once she was sure she had her sister's complete attention, vanishing the staff having made her point.

"My beloved Harry has been feeding from me ever since I found him, and each time it increases my power. He truly is the most precious boy in the world. He doesn't drain your magic, he grows it like a garden so he can eat, or drink I suppose, more and more each time. It is as if he digs the well of your magic deeper with each sip so he can access more each subsequent time, but it leaves it deeper, leaves more for you to use as well. I can't explain it better than that. Just trust me on this, Cissy. It's like nothing you've ever felt before and completely and utterly good. My little Harry is so very clever and good to me, and I love him for it."

Harry lapped up her praise and happiness, not understanding the full meaning of what she had said but knowing the familiar croon of his Bella's lavished praise. He swallowed. Never before had he waited so long before drinking! He glanced between the two sisters' chests but stayed quiet.

Bellatrix caught his gaze and smiled, such a good boy to wait so patiently! "Don't worry, my love. Cissy will feed you soon, and then I'll feed you as well. Won't that be fun? Four in one go!"

Harry giggled happily a moment later when he caught what she was counting, while Narcissa almost blanched. Breast feed the boy? He could talk! She hadn't let the wet-nurse breast feed Draco since he turned six months old...

Thinking of Draco brought moisture to her eyes and she tried desperately not to cry.

Harry realised she was sad and looked up to his Bella, who gestured for him to start feeding and making her feel good. The gesture also magically parted her sister's robes and undergarments so Harry had clear access to her chest.

His small weight clambering expertlyinto her lap brought Narcissa's attention back to the present where Harry was facing her with solemn green eyes. She almost flinched and covered herself, but it seemed pointless.

"I'm sorry you're sad. Bella wants me to make you feel better. Can I make you feel good now?"

She looked once more into her older sister's eyes, and seeing the encouragement there, looked back into his wide eyes and whispered a quiet "Yes please."

Harry nodded and put his little hands against her smooth, pale chest. Her breasts were a little smaller than Bella's, but he'd change that soon enough. He slowly lowered his head and leaned forward to wrap his little lips around her nipple, he called up that hungry, warm feeling, and began to suck.

Narcissa, still so nervous and upset, gasped as her magic rose up like never before to swirl through her. Warmth and light and power flowed from her chest though her whole body and out through her breast, only to flow again with each suckled movement against her nipple. It felt incredible, the glorious golden heat flooding her entire being only to swirl and flow out in great waves that moved out and yet were not missed, as they were only replaced instantly by the next swelling wave just as wonderful, just as beautifully powerful.

Power grew slowly but surely within her even as it left in ever increasing quantities. She gave, yet it was returned, renewed before it was even given and with interest. Slowly the amazing sensation seemed to draw to a close, but far too soon. She wasn't finished yet! It couldn't stop now! But the magic slowed to almost a halt and the hot little mouth left her breast. She could nearly cry from how great the pleasure was, and how wrong it felt that it end like that.

But then his mouth pressed against her other breast, and the flow resumed exactly where it left off. Her hands were now in his dark hair, stroking idly as she cooed encouragement and sweet nothings to this wonderful being. Finally, eventually, the process seemed to come to a finish. She felt very different this time when the flow began to slow down, somehow at peace and completely satisfied rather than bizarrely anxious and unfulfilled.

Harry left her breast with one last suckled kiss before pulling back slowly and smiling up at her. Before she knew it she was smiling back, hands still stroking his hair back and eyes glowing with pleasure.

Bella, having watched the process for he first time from the outside, caught herself feeling oddly jealous and envious. It truly was a beautiful, wonderful thing. She watched them smile at each other and casually fixed her sister's dress and robes with a wave before sitting next to them.

"Now, my love. My turn."

Harry smiled even wider and crawled over to her lap, more comfortable with her and knowing exactly what to do. He settled into position with ease and magic'd her dress open so he could begin already.

Bellatrix smiled at his display of willed accidental magic, before gasping and moaning as he began to drink from her. Oh it felt better every time.

She stroked his hair much as her sister had and completely forget that they weren't alone for the entire length of her love's meal, whispering of love and blood and magic.

Narcissa looked on with interested and calculating eyes.

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Harry drank from Bellatrix for a noticeably longer time than from Narcissa. Eventually though he was over-full and suddenly sleepy, so he was tucked into bed with kisses and pats and lulled more completely to sleep with a soft, wordless lullaby. Narcissa watched the whole time with wide eyes.

Bellatrix gestured for her sister to follow, so they left the bedroom to let him sleep and made their way into the library. Each conjured a comfortable chair, one with and one without a wand, and sat facing each other. They were silent for a time, before the younger sister broke the silence first.

"So tell me, Bella. How did _you_ of all people come to have _Harry Potter?_"

Bellatrix lost her smile at the memory, and nearly growled out loud.

"I followed some less than subtle tracks from Godric's Hollow, and came to be in the middle of some muggle town. After a bit of scrying and exploring, I discovered incredibly powerful Blood Wards protecting a muggle home. After a while I was able to win past the wards with an unbreakable vow not to harm Harry until at least dawn."

She held up a hand as her little sister visibly struggled not to explode at this news.

"I _know_. I explored and found that the couple had a child, an ugly fat thing, and were spoiling it. While my precious Harry was left on filthy cloth in a _fucking cupboard!_"

Her nails bit into the conjured couch, ripping into the fabric as her knuckles whitened.

"They had left him in there for _days_, Cissy. I picked him up, cleaned him and fed him. That's when I discovered his power. Incredible, is it not? Like nothing else. I modified the muggles' memories and places some delayed compulsion curses for revenge, after a little Blood Magic ensured Harry would not be missed. They are probably abusing their own bloated spawn thinking him to be Harry right now. It was a rather neat little piece of magic, you would have liked it. Very clever, very subtle. It even ties in with the wards. Harry will not be missed for a decade, at the very least. And it would be a simple matter to undo and redo as needed."

Narcissa, no neophyte to the dark arts and blood magic in particular, immediately understood exactly what her sister had done. It was clever indeed; inspired, even. The ritual was an old cross between a blood adoption and a failed attempt at immortality. It was too complicated to perform herself, but she made a point to know at least the basics of every type of ritual that might have a use, or be used against her. She had not known her eldest sister capable of it, but apparently Bellatrix had improved. As usual.

Which was to be expected, and neither here nor there.

"So you just waltzed in and took The-Boy-Who-Lived right out from under Dumbledore's nose, leaving him utterly clueless, and locked yourself away from the world? Why? Why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell _me?_ In your absence our world fell apart, even your husband is now locked away, even Lucius-"

Narcissa's voice choked off as her throat swelled with emotion. Draco, her precious Draco, was _gone_. He was stolen away by the man she had hoped to one day grow to love, the man she had hoped would one day grow to love her. Her dream, her only consolation and hope left after her arranged marriage, lay shattered. Worse still, her son would be raised to loathe her, to hate her with such passion as to murder her and revel in it. There was no escaping it, some things were simply known, felt to be true.

Lucius would turn their son into a blade without a handle, letting him stab her heart only to be left, not able to serve another purpose. She held no comforting hope, she was too intelligent to cling to the impossible. Draco was lost to her. Tears welled as despair grew inside her.

Then suddenly warmth bloomed in her chest and the chilled thoughts grew faint. Narcissa's eyes snapped open in time to recognise her older sister had placed a charm on her. She knew intellectually that this was an intrusion, that it was a betrayal and insult, but the artificial calm and pleasant feeling forced her to accept it without taking offence.

"Cissy..." Bellatrix replaced her wand, drawn from long habit instead of need for the basic charm, and enveloped her blonde sister in a desperate embrace. No tears or sobs escaped, held back temporarily as they were with magic, but the raw emotion poured out regardless.

Bellatrix felt strangely guilty; it was her words that convinced her young, impressionable sister to testify against her husband. Truthfully though, she thought that it was almost better this way. Either Lucius would have bribed and bullied, subtly of course, his way out of a conviction and been free to influence her sister and the boy anyway, or he would have been in Azkaban as a living anchor to the past while every day her son grew older to remind her more and more of his father. She had never liked the twisted, pampered prat anyway. He was not worthy of Narcissa.

Part of her felt bad for her sister, with a smaller part feeling bad for her nephew, but she was a Black and knew opportunity when she saw it. With Lucius and his goons as escaped Death Eaters, the Ministry would be on guard, alert, anxious, and all the more easily swayed to drastic measures that could so easily be influenced. With Draco gone there would be nothing distracting Narcissa from their future, a future more prosperous without a Malfoy heir to divide the wealth.

She had it planned out. As the last Potter, Harry would inherit quite a tidy sum of wealth, old artifacts and tomes, land, and political power aided by his triumph over the Dark Lord and status as The-Boy-Who-Lived. As the wife of Rodolphus Lestrange, she herself had access to even greater wealth and hoarded objects, if less political power. Narcissa now had sole control of the Malfoy Vaults, and even though the manor had been sacked it was no small thing. With Draco gone there would be nothing preventing her sister from naming her precious Harry heir. Their consolidated wealth, property and political sway, combined with their natural cunning, would make them the most powerful force in Magical Britain.

And that was even before considering the Black holdings. With Andromeda and countless relatives officially disowned, Regulus dead, and Sirius in Azkaban, the two of them could access a significant number of the Black Vaults. Who knows, dear Sirius might even be persuaded to pass on the title of Lord Black. If not, a quick peek at his will might reveal an individual more amendable to their kind suggestions. And Azkaban was such a deadly place, who knew how long he'd last. Accidents happened every day, too.

All in all, her only regrets in the matter were that her sister would suffer and that she hadn't had the foresight to sneakily do away with the Malfoy males. But there was time and chances for that to happen yet, and it would not help her sister to dwell on such things too obviously.

So Bellatrix spent the night consoling, comforting, and guiding her little sister through this latest tragedy, reapplying charms when needed or asked for, removing them when she wanted to cry again, and then later lovingly whispering plans for a glorious future while they both cuddled and stroked a sleeping Harry.

Eventually there was nothing left, no more tears to cry or feeling to let loose. For hours Bellatrix had watched her sister feel a piece of her heart tear apart. Then she spent the rest of the night helping her start putting it back together again.

It was a slow process, and would take a long time to complete, but it was a start.

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**Please let me know what you think! Reviews are inspiration!**

**ALSO PLEASE VOTE IN MY POLL FOR HARRY'S HOUSE!**

**I have been going around and around trying to decide which House Harry should go in, for pretty much the reasons in the poll on my profile. Please vote, or let me know what you think in your reviews! Thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for your reviews, they help a lot and it means a great deal to me that you like my story. Some people have asked that I slow things down a little and try to flesh out the next few chapters instead of skimming, and I agree. Anyway, enjoy!**

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A soft warm light broke over the enchanted horizon to gently wake the two women sprawled out over the silk sheets. Narcissa blinked several times in mild confusion before the memory of the last few days came back to her and made her tense up. Her sister noticed and reached over to stroke her arm, wordlessly offering comfort which she accepted.

They both gazed at the enchanted wall, taking in the beautiful sunrise breaking over some unnamed forest stretched out below them as if seen from a summit. It was truly a beautiful sight, and a beautiful piece of magic. Bellatrix was quite proud of herself for it; even the famous Hogwarts ceiling didn't offer views from multiple locations.

The moment lingered as they sat back against piles of soft pillows, until the squirming of little Harry broke their concentration. He was trying to get purchase on the silk sheets and unable to sit up properly, being wedged in between the two beautiful ladies. Both had the thought that he would have loved to wake up this way in another decade or so, and smiled wryly as he complained a little.

Finally he gave it up for a lost cause and simply reached up towards Bellatrix. "Help me up please?" Her smile grew wider as she nodded and reached to pluck him up into her lap. He was getting so big, he probably wouldn't fit there much longer. Not that she would stop sitting him there. It was rather nice after all.

"Hello my love. Did you sleep well?" He nodded and leaned up for his morning kiss, their little ritual. She kissed his little lips and then his forehead, the reverse of their goodnight ritual, though that often had more kisses. Not that he complained, it was nice and warm and safe, and sent him right off to sleep. He paused for a moment and looked to see Narcissa there smiling down at him too.

Well that was odd, no one else had ever been there before. Oh the pretty lady from yesterday, Cissy!

"Hello Cissy! Are you feeling good now?"

Her smile grew, but her eyes glistened with the beginnings of tears. Draco would never greet her in the morning ever again... But she pulled it in and tightened her smile in place. She had been raised a Black, she was not some weak woman to give in to despair! She would conquer this!

"Hello, little Harry. I am feeling a little better, thank you. Did you have pleasant dreams?" Her voice wavered a very little at first, but regained its soft strength by the end. He seemed to pick up on it though, because he frowned cutely up at her, then turned to look at Bella as if asking for confirmation.

"She is still sad, my love, because the bad man took away her son. We have paid people to try and find them but the bad man is very good at hiding so we might not find him for a long time, if ever. So we need to cheer her up and make her feel good. Do you think you can help me do this, my love?"

He nodded again. He didn't want Cissy to feel bad, and besides it felt very good making her feel better. Maybe he could keep drinking from them both? That would be great!

Bella had told him lots about bad men, and if this one could get away then he must be badder than most, because Bella was so clever she would have found him if he wasn't. That made him frown a bit, but he was sure Bella would figure it out. She was clever. So he put it from his mind as only a child could, and turned once more to Narcissa.

"Cissy? Can I make you feel good again?"

Narcissa shared a look with Bellatrix. She was still uncertain about what exactly her older sister had planned, but the sheer pleasure and power the boy could bring was beyond belief. And yet she had to believe it, she had experienced it herself. The opportunity was too good to pass up.

"Yes, Harry. That would be very nice, thank you." A thought crossed her mind and she continued after a slight pause. "Can- can I call you my darling? We only met yesterday, but I would like to love you and care for you like Bella."

He looked uncertainly up to Bella again, but she nodded encouragement, stroking his hair and smiling kindly. "Cissy is my best sister and I trust her completely. She is very clever and good and can help me care for you, help me make sure the bad men don't get us, and help make sure we get the bad men instead."

She smiled wickedly at her sister. "Plus she has two very nice breasts for you to suckle from. That will be good, don't you think?"

Harry nodded instantly much to Bellatrix's delight and Narcissa's embarrassment. He turned back to Cissy, now his Cissy.

"Ok Cissy! You can call me that and do that stuff." His stomach chose that moment to interrupt, growling loudly and making the two women laugh so beautifully he wished it would never end. But end it did, and Bella vanished the her front of her dress with a predatory smile.

"Drink from me first, my love. It's my turn."

He eagerly complied and wrapped his warm mouth around her perfectly pink nipple, the first of four for his breakfast. This was perfect.

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An hour later he had drunk his fill from both of them and was fast asleep, apparently overcome by the warm drowsy feeling of being so full. They remained in bed on either side of him, basking in echoes of pleasure and power. Neither wanted the moment to end, but they were not raised to be idle when work was to be done, or rather when schemes were to be plotted, so the moment passed.

"What exactly are you planning, Bella?" She spoke softly so as to not wake the beautiful little boy sleeping between them with quiet, adorable snores.

Narcissa wouldn't presume to guess her sister's motives in this, there were far, far too many possibilities.

Bellatrix considered her little sister. She wanted to tell her everything, but that probably wouldn't work so well. So everything but the extra bit about the Malfoy wealth, then. There was the possibility that she was making a terrible mistake, that Malfoy would win her back and ruin everything, but she was confident her favourite sister would join her fully.

"I had intended to try and discover what had happened that night." She didn't need to say what night, it was probably the most famous night of all history by now. "I do not know what I really had planned, some discovery that would prove the Dark Lord alive? Dead? Some clever trap laid that destroyed him? Cissy, he was bested by a child. This little boy destroyed his body with some power I have never seen the like of.

"He survived the Killing Curse, then was placed under Blood Wards powered by his blood and a connection to a muggle! Cissy, the wards were incredible. Nothing with magic could harm him under them, and the only magic it had to draw on was a _starved_ _and_ _neglected_ babe!"

She took a moment to regain her composure.

"I have researched and studied this power, Cissy. His mother invoked some very, very old magic by sacrificing herself for him. I suspect she was dabbling for years, she was far too bright not to. It provided the means to reflected the unblockable Killing Curse, yet with her death it had nothing to draw on but his own power.

"Cissy, he defeated the Dark Lord in sheer _power_ at the age of _one_."

She let that sink in and watched the play of flickering emotions and thoughts across her face, mostly impatience. Sometimes it was just fun to take the longer way.

"Then I discover his gift, which you have felt for yourself. Such a thing has never occurred in written history. Some long past sorcerers could drain power, some witches could steal magic from your very wand, but none could take and yet leave more than they took. I believe he was near death when I found him. He had obviously not been fed in days. I suspect his magic was all that kept him alive, continually 'accidentally' manifesting to restore him. But then I fed him and his magic latched on to the only thing it could, mine.

"Cissy, I think he would have drained my magic dry and then starved to death. Such is his power that mine would have been a simple meal that wouldn't last. So his magic made it last. It grew my essence, my core, my power, call it what you like, so that he could keep feeding on it. And he can keep on doing so because he hasn't eaten any actual food. He is still living on raw magic, and so can easily call up the same 'accident' over and over.

"I believe that the only reason he does not simply drain us now that he is healthy is because he has come to like making me 'feel good'. So he concentrates on that, on growing the power he feeds on, and it happens that way again. I think he has done this so often it is no longer a case of accidental magic, but wished or even willed magic. He has even began to have less accidents and more cases where he clearly controls the magic.

"And as you have seen, he is far more developed than any child his age should naturally be. His body is more sure, and his mind learns incredibly quickly. I have no idea if this is a result of surviving the Killing Curse, his diet of pure magic, or some other bizarre occurrence, but he will likely be incredibly intelligent when he is older. If not, then he still has such a head start that it is likely he will be bored with those his age. He has power, and the means to take more unlike any other. He will likely have one of the brightest minds in several generations. He is heir to a fairly wealthy yet very influential House, and is even more famous for being The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"And above all, he can literally grow our magic inside us. Cissy, he could be the greatest Dark Lord of all time. And with his fame, he could even do it legally and in the light! Imagine him in twenty years time, ruling the Ministry and Wizengamot through fame and power, backed by the wealth he has and could easily generate. With us to guide him, to mold him into the perfect leader, to aid his rule... Cissy, we could have _everything_. Everything we ever wanted.

"I have the Lestrange fortune all but entirely. You have the Malfoy fortune and contacts. Harry will have the Potter vaults and seats. And unless I am very much mistaken, our dear cousin Sirius will have named him his heir. Or could be persuaded to. The Black House will rise once more, Cissy, and we will be the architects behind it. Can you imagine it? A subtle war planned and won by us without the need to satisfy the blustering egos of men!

"The Dark Lord had power, but his schemes were weak compared to ours. How many times did we alter the plans, provide advice through others because we could not do so ourselves? At our young age? All that time plotting and we were the best advisors he had! And he didn't even know it.

"But it doesn't matter because I have found a more powerful lord. He will rise up with our help and will smite Voldemort down from whatever pathetic rock he crawls out from!"

Narcissa gasped softly, but quickly wondered why. The Ministry, or rather Dumbledore, had managed to break the Taboo several years ago, and she had never been particularly afraid of such a foolish, cowardly name. Flight from death, indeed. It was more the threat behind the name anyway. And regardless, Bella's ambitions were not so far from what she had guessed.

Aside from the rather large surprise that the Dark Lord was not truly dead. That might be a rather important detail.

She mulled over this revelation that Bella truly thought, or rather, seemed to know that the Dark Lord was still alive somehow, before asking her question softly.

"He is not truly dead, then?"

Bellatrix released her pent up energy in a long, drawn out sigh.

"He is not dead. Several years ago he gave an object to me for safekeeping, a token of appreciation and a show of favouritism. He had me place it in my most secure vault. Naturally I was curious and examined it. It was Helga Hufflepuff's Chalice, but more than that. He had turned it into a horcrux. It houses a portion of his soul, and ties his spirit to this realm. He cannot die until it, and the others that I suspect he made, have been destroyed.

"I suspect another of these objects was given to Lucius, at the very least I know something was given to him for safekeeping. I doubt these are the only ones. And-"

She paused and lowered her voice, fixing her gorgeously dark eyes on her sister's to make a point of importance.

"And I have discovered something about Harry's scar. I believe the Dark Lord was planning to use the boy's murder to create another horcrux, but due to his curse rebounding, and the tears in his soul, the shattering flung a portion of it free to attach to the only living thing nearby. Harry's scar contains a portion of Voldemort's soul, and I can think of nothing save death to remove it."

Narcissa gasped once more. This was incredible. Completely unbelievable. Impossible.

"You are sure? You can't be mistaken? What does this mean?"

Bella offered a wry smile. "I have been here for months on end with the only being to survive the Killing Curse, Cissy. I studied that thing so much I can describe the composition in my sleep. I am certain. But it does not appear to be negatively affecting him. Either the old magic his mother invoked, his own magical power or something else protects him from it, or it is benign. Or, as I think is most likely, that with the other two combined, and as it is such a smaller portion of soul, being at the very least the third horcrux, his own soul is simply more than capable of being unaffected by it, at least negatively.

"Though I admit I am curious to see if he develops any of the Dark Lord's abilities, skills, or even memories. It is another explanation for his increased development. Though once again I think it is a combination of factors."

Both sisters were unconsciously leaning closer together now, Bella's excitement increased with every word, and Narcissa could not deny that the picture she painted of the future was a wonderful one. Their own personal Dark Lord? The possibilities...

Bella's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Cissy, we can make him into the strongest wizard to ever breathe, in every sense. He will have fame, political power, wealth, and more magic than Merlin himself. Cissy, through him the world will be ours. Everything we've ever wanted...With us by his side, watching his back, plotting for him... And our magic, Cissy. He can grow our magic! Imagine him when he actually knows what he is doing... He could make us near ageless. I feel as though he has already added a decade to my life, you know that stronger magic slows old age.

"Imagine us, Cissy. You and I, his ageless Queens and advisors. With all this power and our increased longevity, however much it is, I'm sure we could discover how to make a Philosopher's Stone. Great-great grand uncle Phineas was so close- I'm sure his notes will be in the Family vault."

Narcissa hid her blanch at the word 'queens', but could not help but ask.

"Bella... You speak and act like you want to marry him..."

"Of course I do! He is no mere boy, Cissy, he will be the god-king of this world sooner or later. This will not be the first time a Black has raised their future partner, and it is far from uncommon in times of old. Virtually all the greatest Witches raised their mates, not least Morgana Le Fey herself!"

The name of the greatest witch to ever live brought a brief moment of silence while they honoured the memory of her prowess.

Narcissa had to admit her sister had a point. But she was still undecided about it and so changed the topic.

"Tell me more about these horcruxes. If they are the secret behind the Dark Lord's strength then perhaps we should make our own."

It seemed to be Bella's turn to look uneasy.

"Horcruxes are no little matter, Cissy. The ritual is _black_, the information about them vague, and we have seen for ourselves the... negative effects shredding a soul can have. I do not think it wise to... deform ourselves so, simply to exist as some intangible shade. It is an intriguing art, and there are many possibilities, but no. I don't think we should create our own until we understand them completely. Luckily enough we will have two for our studies, one in our little Harry and one in the cup, once I can retrieve it."

Narcissa nodded, bowing to her older sister's deeper insider standing of the darker arts. Though the mention of the cup brought up another topic they needed to discuss.

"What are you going to do now, Bella? Surely you so not plan on living here indefinitely. It is a cosy set up, I admit, but not feasible in the long term. Or do you want me to be your ambassador to the outside world?"

Bellatrix released a small sigh. "I admit it has been very pleasant here, especially with little Harry for company, but no. We cannot remain here forever. It would ill prepare him for life outside, if nothing else. I think it would be best to have my name cleared, quietly if possible. Or perhaps a larger audience would suit our purposes better. Before you ask, look here."

She raised her left arm and revealed her unmarked skin, to Narcissa's absolute confusion. What was going on? That was impossible! She had seen the Mark herself! Comprehension dawned as she realised why her sister had not cared about, in fact had pushed her to reveal that those Marked were loyal Death Eaters and in the Inner Circle.

Bella gave a satisfied smile as she watched the realisation spark in her eyes.

"Yes, exactly. I no longer carry the Mark, and so I of course could not possibly be in the Inner Circle. Any who say otherwise are clearly wrong, having been tricked into framing me." She gave a smirk.

"Little Harry saw it one day and asked about it. I told him it was bad, so he wiped it off with his sleeve, as if it were mere spilled ink. It was transferred onto the cloth and there it remains, a true Dark Mark attached to no one. At first I was simply astounded by it, by his power and control. No one has ever been able to do anything like it. But then with further study, it proved once more that the horcrux inside him is part of the Dark Lord's soul. The link between them allowed him to connect to the Mark, and then transfer it to the fabric.

"I am sure with training and practice, he will be able to further tap into the Dark Lord's powers. Imagine that, Cissy. Not only will be be a full Dark Lord in his own right, but with the power of his predecessor too! It is almost too convenient, were it not for the fact that it anchors Voldemort's shade to this plane."

"That is indeed a rather unfortunate price to pay, but shades can be banished, or better yet, bound. And if we can find the other horcruxes, who knows what we could do with them. Beyond the fact that they are shards of the- of Voldemort's soul," Narcissa suppressed her shudder fairly well. "There is also the fact that he seems to have chosen very powerful objects as containers. Helga Hufflepuff's Chalice of Plenty? Bella, that alone could have been an immense advantage in the war. The power to duplicate any potion? Any? Most believe it worked only for wines and such, but its true beauty was it worked perfectly with magical ingredients too. Deadly, incurable poisons, strength and health tonics, Felix Felicis? Veritaserum? _Everything_.

"Bella, with that cup alone we could achieve so much. We have to retrieve it as soon as possible. The potential is too great to let it rust in some dusty vault!"

Both sisters stilled as Harry stirred in his sleep, disturbed slightly by their raised voices. Despite their sudden silence, he woke with a cute yawn and looked around, smiling when he saw them.

"Goodmorning, Bella! Goodmorning, Cissy!"

"Goodmorning, darling. Sorry, we did not mean to wake you."

"But since you are awake, my love, perhaps its time for your morning lessons?"

Harry nodded with glee and crawled clumsily out of bed.

"Bye Bella, bye Cissy! See you later!"

He dashed off with no small amount of giggling to one side of the room before leaping right at the wall. Narcissa couldn't believe her eyes, was the boy trying to kill himself? But then he disappeared without leaving a trace behind, save for a silver glowing circle right where he vanished. She quirked an elegant eyebrow at her sister in silent demand for an explanation.

Bellatrix laughed more innocently than she had heard her laugh in over a decade. "A pensieve, Cissy. The Lestrange one, actually. Can you believe they actually had one? Anyway, I had it fixed to the wall when he persisted in jumping into it, at least this way it's a little harder for him to miss. Besides, he enjoys it. It contains a copy of my memories up to the end of my first year at Hogwarts. Sometimes I go in with him, sometimes I let him view whatever he wants. He knows what he is and isn't supposed to do in there, and its much more efficient than any other form of basic education I can imagine. It might help if you could add some of your memories, too.

"As he get older, I'll let him view more of my memories, though I expect I'll have to be careful and guide him through them. For now, this lets him see the world out there and interactions between various people. We might have to find a suitable male for other things, though. I doubt it would benefit him to act as a girl would. No, we will need to find someone, eventually."

Narcissa nodded, that was probably wise. Pensieve tutoring was not unheard of, but the rarity of the expensive and very difficult-to-craft objects meant that it was far from common. Even those older Families that possessed them did not use them too often for such things, as memories were a very private thing and trust was always an issue.

Her sister was apparently very serious about this.

A small gesture and they both slid from the bed and walked quietly to the study. The room had a darker, more serious feel to it and the thick carpet muffled the sound of their footsteps. One wall was covered by a chart of all the main players in political Magical Britain, and much information about them. The middle of the room was dominated by a large table made of some kind of dark red wood, with different parchments and books from the connected library scattered over it. A lounge and a desk completed the room perfectly in both sisters' opinions.

Narcissa claimed the lounge, and Bellatrix, not to be outdone, wandlessly conjured a mirror image of it for herself with her little smirk. Narcissa scowled at the display of skill and power currently beyond her, and her sister noticed.

"Never fear, Cissy. Soon enough you'll be the same. It's not merely the increase in power, but the feel of its flow... You remember how it flows through every part of you before he drinks it? Remember that feeling, remember how it moves so easily through your body, specifically your arms and hands. That more than anything is a gift."

Narcissa considered that.

"So you mean to say that each 'meal' increases your sensitivity to your own magic, as well? Improved flow, channelling..."

"Yes! Exactly that. I can channel my magic through my hands easily for anything uncomplicated, or undirected, or simple. But anything precise, or focused or too powerful requires my wand. I can't actually cast anything projected from my hands, not even a stunner. I do not know why, but I think it is due to the nature of wands and the difference between a focal point and natural outlet. It seems that anything just creating an effect is possible, but true casting is not."

She sighed a little.

"I will keep trying, though. I think given enough time, and power, it will be possible in some form. Perhaps some months from now we will be on more equal footing and could practice together. But enough of that. We need to plan, and you, my dearest Cissy, are the better politician. I have grown a little too impatient for truly brilliant machinations, I fear."

This prompted a smirk from the younger sister, and Bella rejoiced at the glimpse of her returning happiness.

"Ahh, I told you delving deeper into the dark arts would spoil you. Why bother with bribes and blackmail, subtle hints and grand plans, when you can simply _Imperius_ or kill the weak minded fools, hmm? I admit that sometimes your way is so much more satisfying, and very tempting. But, dearest Bella, this is probably not the best time for that."

They shared a knowing laugh, and began to plan in earnest.

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**Please review and let me know what you think. Oh, and which House should Harry be in? There are excellent reasons for and against each House. Please vote in the poll on my profile, though reviews expressing your reasons have more weight!**

**By the way, I feel I should say Draco will be attending Durmstrang and will visit for the Tournament.**

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**A guest reviewed with several excellent points about the Houses, so I will put it here completely. Thank you for it, it is very good.**

**"**A wolf in sheep clothing, is what I believe, so as to what house Harry should be in, so let it be either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Why? Well...No one would expect a dark lord to come from these two unlikely houses. Hufflepuff because of their friendly nature and Gryffindor because of their chivalrous nature and idea of fair play. Not to mention that Harry could persuade the children of light and neutral families to ally with his cause.

To further give you an idea of why these two houses should be considered...I will refer to a passage from another fanfic story. The story is written by oraldeviant and called Know Your Place.

"Slytherin, once a house of the cunning has now become a breeding ground of corruption and filth. Where as the house still gathers the ambitious they are now plagued with an arrogance that often leads them to folly. Never underestimate them but at the same time, never underestimate their high opinion of themselves.

Gryffindor is indeed the house of the brave, but it's also the house of the idiots. Bravery and lack of common sense often go hand in hand and their obsession with ideals and chivalry can prevent them from making the logical choices. Avoid directly angering them, as an enemy that pays no heed to your threats is not one to take lightly, seek to manipulate them instead.

Ravenclaw has always housed the intelligent, but rarely the sharp. Their obsession with books leads them to lose sight of the real world and should anything occur that goes against what they have read, and can not be dealt with by researching, they are left quite helpless. Seek their advice, assistance and council but do not take it as the absolute truth.

Hufflepuff is often referred to as the dumping ground of Hogwarts, yet it's a moniker coined by the lazy and those that would underestimate them. The ideals of the house are hard work and loyalty, the very things you would want from people close to you. Gain their loyalty and you will have seven years of unyielding support by the hardest workers in the school." - See more at: .com

I'm glad that Narcissa seems to have agreed to help Bellatrix with her plans. Hope to read more soon.**"**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't know what happened, but chapter seven is not finished yet and I did not post it. It will be up as soon as I finish it, probably entitled 'The Actual Seventh Chapter' after all this mess.**

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They ended up talking for over an hour before deciding on a general outline of their plans. Azkaban would be broken into so they could acquire their cousin and technical Head of House, Sirius Black, as well as any other prisoners of value. It went without saying that the Lestrange brothers would be included in this. It also went without saying what would happen to them. Not that there was any doubt.

At some point they would need to 'prove' Bellatrix innocent, an objective aided by her no longer bearing her Dark Mark. With a little careful rehearsal, they did not believe this would be too difficult. Both of them would have to claim their husbands' Family Wizengamot seats, and Narcissa would have to remind certain members that the debts owed to the name of Malfoy were not lost with her husband. Nor were the favours given.

Sirius would be forced to name Harry his heir and then abdicate his role of Head of Family and Lord Black. They toyed with the idea of killing him or keeping him under the Imperius curse, but it would depend on their meeting with him.

They decided the sacking of Azkaban would be first on the list as the confusion and panic it would cause would allow them to move largely unnoticed, and hurry certain proceedings along. With the prisoners gone, thought to be free and roaming the world causing havoc, who would look too closely at one Death Eater proved innocent? Or one legally widowed talking with certain influential persons?

That virtually every powerful family had maps of Azkaban was a poorly kept secret. The ancient fortress itself boasted incredible defences from attack, but none from infiltration. The presence of Dementors was thought to be enough to dissuade any attempts, and usually they would be correct. They were, however, well trained not to go anywhere near the few human guards. Constant exposure to the Aurors' Patronus charms over the years had instilled within the soul-sucking monstrosities a certain understandable aversion to the uniform.

So the plan was simple. Bellatrix would visit and walk through the corridors with several guards under her Imperius curse, going from cell to cell and dumping the prisoners in one of her expanded trunks.

The slightly more complicated part lay in making sure it remained that simple.

The number of guards would have to be reduced, and if possible the quality of guard as well. A distraction might work well, but it would be better to also lay in some groundwork first. Certain influential people might be persuaded that extra Aurors were needed elsewhere, and new graduates could handle Dementor-cowed prisoners. Besides, the experience would look good on their records and might lead to a promotion. And so on.

Barty Crouch Senior was one to talk to, though they might have to handle it carefully, depending on his mental and emotional state. It was likely that he did not have much time left before he was demoted from his position of Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office, was another important person in their plan.

Unfortunately, neither were corrupt or malleable as far as they knew, and both had reputations as tough, unyielding bastards who loathed anything Dark.

Fortunately, they both had less scrupulous people working for and around them. A whisper here, a little gold there, and the right words would find there way to both men. Narcissa would be able to accomplish both with relative ease. Even more fortunately, Crouch had a son in Azkaban and a wife that was heartbroken by it. They anticipated Crouch to be desperate in one way or another, opening his mind to certain possibilities.

The distraction was another matter. Neither could come up with anything other than sending Aurors after Malfoy. As the only known high profile Death Eater free, along with his goons Crabbe and Goyle, they were the only target large enough to gain the attention of the Auror forces. Narcissa would have to claim her husband's Wizengamot seats and contacts and kick up a fuss about them, and her kidnapped son.

The only real problem was that she wouldn't be acting. If she slipped and revealed too much of herself, it could have very negative effects on their goals, not least including her being removed from the seats due to extreme emotional turmoil rendering her unreasonable and unfit to hold a seat, much less several, in the Wizengamot.

Bellatrix worried about her sister, but Narcissa said she would cope and be fine, and with some preparation together it should be alright, so she relented and resolved to do all she could to help her little sister face this.

Another few hours were spent refining certain details and preparing Narcissa for the coming confrontations. It would have to be soon, the sooner the better, lest it become more difficult to assume the seats and re-establish contact with those under Malfoy influence. That same day, even.

Eventually though they grew hungry, having forgotten breakfast, and so Bellatrix summoned Dobby. It was truly marvellous how a house-elf could bypass all wards and protections to find their master. Theorists could not to this day state how they could break several known magical laws, but no one truly cared. They were oft overlooked due to their simple nature and limitations, but a good house-elf was a very valuable resource.

"Mistrisses is be wanting their luncheon?"

Bella nodded with a small smile and adopted a sweeter than usual tone. "Yes Dobby, thank you. You are a very good elf to anticipate your masters needs."

The diminutive creature brightened immensely and disappeared to prepare the meal. Narcissa considered her sister, it was all but unheard of to speak to a house-elf so... kindly.

She laughed a little in response. "Cissy, when will you learn that house-elves are much more useful when they feel they are appreciated. Surely you have not forgotten dear Kreacher?"

An early lunch was soon served and they ate in silence, each considering the plans they had laid out. Narcissa would go to the Ministry soon after they finished to be able to meet some of the people during their lunch breaks. Today she would claim the Malfoy seats and remind certain individuals that their dealings with Malfoy were not over. Tomorrow, she would get started on the rest.

Halfway through the meal Bellatrix paused and set her fork down with a sigh. "I forgot to get Harry. I've been trying to show him how normal food is eaten, but he does not care to learn it when he never eats any of it. Not that I blame him, I would choose magic over food, too."

She left the room and entered the pensieve to find Harry reading through her younger self's shoulder. She blinked. He could read?

He looked up at her and smiled. "Hi Bella! I'm trying to read 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' but it's really tricky. The speaking words helps lots though! Your aunty is a good teacher too, but she's pretty mean to you. I don't think I like her very much."

Ahh, she remembered this now. She was five or six and learning to read more adult writing, or trying to. The book was enchanted to speak the words aloud as they were stroked, a rather useful educational tool. She very much approved of the way her little Harry spent his time bettering himself, rather than frolicking around in her more idle memories. She paused the memory and kneeled to speak with him, smiling happily.

"Hello my love. My clever little Harry is learning to read! Such a good, smart little boy I've got. I think I come to love you more each day. Yes, aunty is a bit strict. But I think this is enough for now. Did you want to come out and have lunch with Cissy and little me?"

He brightened before frowning. "You don't mean with food, do you?"

Bellatrix laughed at his cute little pout. "Don't worry, my love. You don't have to eat anything but the magic from our breasts! If it's ok with you though, my love, I'd rather be your first."

Harry smiled at that, food just didn't seem nearly so good as Bella. "Ok Bella, you can be first. You can always be first."

"Thank you."

Bellatrix smiled and held him close, his face nestled between her breasts, stroking his hair and hiding exactly how exultant his innocent declaration made her feel. Oh, she would _so_ enjoy always being his first.

She couldn't wait until he was older... really, she _couldn't_. Already she was plagued with daydreams of-

No, she would wait. _For a while._

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Narcissa strode through the Ministry atrium with her head held high and her eyes guardedly pleased. Expensive silver-blue robes swept behind her as she made her way out of the department that handled Wizengamot claims and paperwork. She was now the official holder of three Wizengamot seats previously held by proxies for the Malfoy Family. It was recommended she pass at least two on to be held for her by persons of her choosing, but not strictly necessary.

It had gone better than she expected.

Her nerves were frayed and her composure shaken by the frank talk and rumours about her previous husband and her kidnapped son, but she held herself together as a true Black and managed to avoid that particular pitfall. She doubted that she could have managed without the extremely pleasant warm thrum of power lingering throughout her body from little Harry's last drink from her.

That boy truly was amazing.

Narcissa knew what Bella was trying to do. She knew Harry was being used as a replacement for her son and even husband, a new target for the affection she wished to give and a new goal to focus on. And while she could not shift her feelings so easily, she did appreciate the gesture. It was helpful, and she could actually see herself doing exactly that in the future, something that she thought should have made her feel something bad about it. Self-disgust. Regret. Shame.

But she didn't.

Harry was a darling, beautiful little boy, and the means to achieving everything her line had ever dreamed of. Of course she would care for him and raise him to achieve his full potential, throwing her lot in with his. Her husband was lost to her, and he had all but ensured her son was as well. She would not despair, but she would also not live her life clinging to the barest thread of hope, avoiding life until it was too late.

She was not the first mother to lose her son so young. If by some miracle Draco was found, she would rejoice and take him back into her heart and life instantly. If not, she would quietly mourn while moving on as much as she could. But she would not mourn so much that she stopped living.

So, Narcissa hardened her heart. Draco was dead, Lucius had killed him. He might come back, but until then he was dead, or in a coma, or just gone.

And she had work to do.

Narcissa managed to walk through almost every main department, pausing to talk with certain acquaintances, responding casually to the rumours already flying around, literally sometimes as enchanted paper plane memos, that yes indeed, she had taken on the Malfoy Seats. Yes, Lucius had taken her son. Yes, it was awful, soul-crushing, devastating, but no, she was not broken by it.

Oh, and how neglectful that the Aurors weren't chasing after the only known Death Eaters that were still free, especially ones that had kidnapped the son of such a high standing citizen. Even more so now that the terror of You-Know-Who's causing was over, thanks to The-Boy-Who-Lived. Why, it was almost like the Ministry didn't care that such a horrendous crime had taken place, the very day that the criminals had escaped Auror custody! Swift action had to be taken to capture the criminals before they could recruit more to join their awful cause, and of course to rescue her dear son.

Her expressions were perfect each time, the tone of outrage and anger coupled with frustration and misery blended masterfully. It helped that she was completely serious for once, but her acting skills helped convey her words with greater impact. By the end of the day almost every single Ministry worker knew exactly what had happened and were convinced Malfoy and his goons needed to be captured immediately.

By the end of the week, the community would be baying for the blood of the only free Death Eaters, ones who had committed the most grievous crime of kidnapping a child. That he was male, a single child, and heir to a wealthy pure-blood family only drove the point home further. There were few crimes worse. Heads would roll for their escape, and the opportunity for advancement, and the whispers of the bounties, would further excite the need for their capture.

So everything went rather well. The next hour or so afterwards was spent altering the wards around the Malfoy manor so that none but she could access it, courtesy of her new status as its sole Lady, and packing some of her things to bring to the safe house. Perhaps soon she and Bella would place it under a Fidelius Charm, that would really aggravate Lucius, not being able to remember his own Family manor and knowing exactly why. Ahh, that would be nice, a lovely little revenge.

Almost as nice as imagining the look on his face when she retook the name Black and bound the Malfoy seats to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, thus destroying any chance of his or his line holding the seats one day.

Such a strange system. Permanent seats were attached to the noble Families that originally formed the Wizengamot, with temporary seats being held by various Ministry officials. Unlike temporary seats, the permanent ones were passed down through the family lines, and more than one could be held the same person. Through various methods including extremely strong marriages and conquests, the Malfoy Family had clawed their way into holding three such seats, a rather impressive feat considering their relatively new status in England from France.

Of course Lucius and his father before him had preferred to let their proxies make the votes so they could work from behind the scenes and avoid certain questions and bad publicity.

Narcissa, however, did not have this option just yet, nor did she wish to use it. The previous proxies were completely in Malfoy's grip, so of course they had to go. A few quick obliviations and memory charms ensured they remembered nothing incriminating, nor had any reason or desire to re-enter politics or cause her any kind of harm.

Another few loose ends tied up.

But there wasn't anything else she could accomplish without ruining their plans in her haste, so Narcissa regretfully finished her packing and left the manor. She felt the wards settle as she left the property boundaries, and a few spells made certain that all was well.

Tomorrow she would make another few appearances, and then the next day she could begin in earnest. It was both satisfying and vexing to know that things were proceeding as well as could be expected but at the same time knowing more could not be done just yet. Haste, or even the appearance of haste, could ruin everything. A deft touch and no more was required in most of these schemes, and she knew better than most how far she could push before it snapped.

So she would return to her sister's safe house, or little hideaway as it seemed to her, and share exactly what had happened. It was nice seeing Bella be herself after so long, and happier then ever. All thanks to little Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Future Dark Lord and God-King of the Britain, if not the world.

Narcissa shivered.

Bella's words still rang in her ears, whispering and stoking the fires of ambition that all good Slytherins had. Those words were so seductive, so beautiful, she could not even bring herself to fight against them. Not that she would ever want to.

It did not hurt that he could empower her in every sense of the word.

It did not hurt that he did so in such a pleasurable way.

Raw magic flowing through her and growing within her aside, it had been so long since Lucius had shared her bed that the intimate contact made her shiver by itself. As soon as she fell pregnant, and it was swiftly confirmed to be a male heir, her newly wed husband had left her alone, despite her attempts at seduction. Sex between them was for the production of an heir to carry on his line, and little more. She knew this from the start, but had held hopes of more, of making a true love-match grow between them.

He had been so... almost affectionate. Their love-making was almost exactly that, and while he had not paid too much attention to her pleasure, he had indulged his desire and prolonged their intimacy. It had been rather more than pleasant, he was not unskilled or unhandsome. It had allowed her hope to grow. It had given her happy dreams of their future together. It had made it all the worse when he turned from her bed and retreated to his own.

Somehow it had been worse not knowing if he merely satisfied himself, spent the time with mistresses or whores, or truly did not feel any desire any more.

But then he had kidnapped their son, and if she ever saw him again she would kill him and laugh at his face while watching him writhe in agony. Naturally.

Draco would be taken back instantly and loved and raised to become a handsome, clever, strong young man. If she could.

Bella was to be helped and trusted and together they would accomplish great things, wonderful things.

But oh how Harry made her shiver.

Narcissa flicked her wand and saw the time float into existence in pale white numbers. Just after four o'clock. Maybe if she was lucky it was time for an afternoon snack?

She pulled out a small silver locket that held inside it the moving figures of herself and Bella sitting side by side with an adorable Harry laying across their laps, currently suckling at her breast with a smile. Her expression in the photo could only be described as blissful, while Bella appeared to be half happy and half jealous. The photo had been taken just before she left for the Ministry, and already it had quite the place in her heart.

She closed the locket and held it tight, thoughts shifting between it and the other locket around her neck, holding a photo of her son. A sigh tore through her lips as something gave, and she kissed the cool silver before whispering the password "My Darling" and she disappeared with a small flash of blue-white light.

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As planned, two days after claiming the Malfoy seats and beginning her plan, Narcissa was once more walking through the Ministry. Several more 'chance' encounters along the way ensured the rumours would continue to build, but this time she had a scheduled meeting to attend.

Trying very hard and only partially succeeding, she fought the memory of warm lips stirring power and pleasure within her. It did not help her that it had been not half an hour since her darling had fed from her breasts, but it was too good to avoid it simply because it made her a little flustered.

Besides, her little darling was hungry.

Narcissa blinked and realised she was standing outside the appointed room. One quick breath later and she was walking into the room to meet the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Or rather, the Head, for now.

Barty Crouch's reputation was in shreds after his son was convicted, by himself no less, of being a Death Eater in the Dark Lord's Inner Circle, amongst many other crimes including the most recent torture of Alice and Frank Longbottom under the Cruciatus curse. Though the two top Aurors had survived and fought them off to eventually make a full recovery, the attempt had lingered in the minds of the British public.

Crouch was ruined, it just hadn't happened yet. And everybody knew it. His office had been swept for anything suspicious, and nobody bothered to let him back in. He currently used the bland room she had just entered, though by 'used' Narcissa supposed 'stayed in' and 'slept in' barely counted. It was well known his wife loathed the sight of him for his callous conviction of their only son. It was also well known she was about an inch away from dying of a broken heart.

As Narcissa walked into the study, she took in Crouch's appearance without batting an eye. His once immaculate grooming had given way to despair and neglect. He appeared not to have bathed recently, or changed attire. Dark rings and pale skin marked his lack of sleep and sunlight, but the hollow way his eyes looked past her revealed the true depth of his fall from grace.

Realising it might be better to get this over with quickly, Narcissa took a seat unbidden. Her wand waved about casting numerous privacy wards that would have been superfluous but she felt it necessary.

"Mr Crouch. Let me be frank. Your son is in Azkaban, and your wife is not long left in this world if she cannot mend her broken heart. My cousin, Sirius Black, is also in Azkaban, and he is the Head of our Family with no heir that we know of. I would like to arrange a private visit to speak with my cousin, as you and your wife no doubt wish to speak with your son."

Narcissa paused, ignoring the fact that the man before her would likely strangle his son before exchanging a civil word with him. And the fact that his eyes still hadn't truly focused on her the entire time.

"Such a meeting would have to be very discreet, as I am sure you can appreciate. Not to cast aspersions, but certain Aurors would not hold their peace. And there is the matter of the recordings that list all visits. If, however, an important matter came up that required as many experienced Aurors as possible, it would be perfectly reasonable to reassign several of their number to a more important cause."

Another pause. She had his attention now.

"And really, with the formidable enchantments, not to mention the incredibly daunting Dementors, a few newly graduated Aurors could easily 'hold the fort', as they say. With the rush and their new assignment, not to mention the presence of the Head of the DMLE himself, certain procedures might be relaxed to avoid unduly embarrassing certain prominent citizens.

"Oh, and speaking of prominent citizens, did you know that the three Death Eaters that remain free, having escaped Ministry imprisonment after being convicted, have robbed Malfoy manor and kidnapped my son, the Heir to the Noble Malfoy line? Of course you know. I would thank you for every effort being used to rescue my son, and ensure the safety of the Wizarding public by capturing these terrorists."

Crouch seemed to come back to life, but not enough to speak just yet. She decided to put it as bluntly as she could make herself, this was just ridiculous. It was more painful than she had thought.

"I think I would be even more thankful if you appointed a special task force under a highly skilled and trusted Hitwizard to track them down and bring them to justice, while saving my son, the Heir to a prominent Pureblood Family. I'm sure they would be happy to lead such a visible, well known task force where their chances for promotion and reward are greatly increased. Such a person would be in a great position to repay those they owe favours, regardless of where those persons might be or how terrible their reputation might have become, yes?"

As light drifted back into the man's eyes, a calculating glint made itself known. It was a shame she had been forced to be so overt. How frustrating. Oh well.

There was a distracted air to Crouch now, as though he were far away. She recognised the look, and quickly excused herself. It was amusing how he barely seemed to notice her once again, after having held his desperate attention mere moments ago. He would plan it out almost as well as she could have, but all in his own style and without further evidence of her interaction. An angry, grieving mother could understandably demand action be taken, but too much proximity would eventually set off alarms. No, it was better to leave him alone now. One down, one to go.

And with the tracking spells she had inconspicuously placed on the distraught man, they would know the minute he approached anywhere near Azkaban. Just in case.

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**Its taking a little longer to set things up, but I think in the long run it will be better for it. House runnings are between Ravenclaw and Hugfflepuff now unless I suddenly get a freaking fantastic idea otherwise.**

**REVIEWS ARE THE FOOD OF MY MUSE. THANK YOU.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I have edited this chapter a little, and will do so again later.**

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Narcissa's next meeting would be very different, and yet almost exactly the same.

Rufus Scrimgeour was one of the best Hitwizards still alive, a feat achieved in no part due to luck. It was all skill, cunning, and power. He had no wife or children, his younger, successful siblings would carry on the family line and it left him free to focus entirely on his career.

The man had no weaknesses to exploit, nothing to hold over his head, nothing to offer him. He had enough gold, and no vices save ambition. But even that was channeled legally. Narcissa had no doubt he would one day become Minister of Magic purely through his own merit and effort.

She could do nothing but offer to help him along his path.

His secretary knocked on his door twice before opening it for her, no announcement necessary as each and every appointment was held on time and scheduled beforehand. The office was a workspace, with wanted posters on the walls with notes scribbled next to them, charts of sightings and possible crimes next to them. A large table was covered with notes, while the desk was mostly clear to provide a clean space to work.

It reminded her more than a little of Bella's study. Meant for working, not entertainment or intimidation. Though the man handled that at her well by himself. Grizzly brown hair that had started to grey, a stern expression with sharp eyes and an all around aura of competence and directness left Narcissa well pleased with her choice. He was perfect.

"Mrs Malfoy," he intoned a little blandly, as if trying to hide his interest, and gestured for her to sit. "I was surprised to hear you wanted to speak with me. _What_ can I do for you." It wasn't a question. It very nearly became an icy 'what do you want', but it was a start.

"Head Auror Scrimgeour. As you know, my ex-husband was convicted of being a Death Eater, with the help of my testimony. A testimony, I remind you, which has seen virtually all of You-Know-Who's servants imprisoned." It was important not to say 'the Dark Lord' in certain situations, and speaking to one of the hardest Hitwizards happened to be one of them.

"My ex-husband then escaped custody along with two mindless followers, and kidnapped my son after stealing almost everything of worth from my manor and killing my house-elves.

"I am surprised at how little has been done to rescue my son and see these three last remnants of You-Know-Who's terrorist organisation brought to justice. _Lucius_ has the gold and the contacts, it would _not_ be unreasonable to assume he is in the process of building up another army as we speak. It _would_ be unreasonable to assume he is not."

His hard eyes watched her for any sign, any clue of her intentions. She gave him none.

"Mrs. Malfoy, while it is very regrettable what has happened to you and your son, I fail to see why you have come to speak with me."

"I want my son returned safe to me. I want my ex-_husband_," she spat the foul word, "suffering and dying for what he has done. The Ministry is too busy revelling in You-Know-Who's downfall, a feat they had no part in, and the capture of most of his followers, a feat they owe largely to _me_."

She held up a hand to ward of Scrimgeour's rebuttal.

"Let me be blunt, as I am sure you think me incapable. You and I both know that Lucius would have slipped through your fingers without my testimony, and thanks to my input you had several more pointed questions to ask under Veritaserum. From there you had every marked Death Eater in your grasp, and from there you got the rest. You _know_ this is true.

"What I want is simple. I want a group of dedicated Aurors and Hitwizards hunting him down like the dog he is. I want my son back. I want every single Death Eater and those that aid them punished. If the Ministry is not willing to fund and back this _noble_ and _necessary_ pursuit to my satisfaction, I am willing to back it financially and politically _myself_. I believe you would be the best for the job, your skill, drive and ambition makes you perfect. You would rescue my son and see the filth _dealt with_.

"I will be making an announcement at the next open Wizengamot meeting, which is in three days. You have until then to decide and position yourself best to accept such a position. Such a visible, important position would highlight you further as competent and driven, provided you actually succeed. Which would be in my interests as well. Obviously. There, it is laid out before you as plain as is possible. I can see you need time to think about this. Let me simply say one more thing."

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"The man to rescue my son will have my gratitude and support for the rest of his life. The man chasing that bastard and his ilk will have my full support. The current bounty on his head, and for the safe return of my son, is more than you would ever get here, but there is no reason you can't have both the rewards of gold and favours from the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, and success in the Ministry."

She stood and inclined her head slightly. "Good day, Mr Scrimgeour, future Head of the DMLE and Minister of Magic."

And with that she left the office, not bothering to check his reaction to her parting words. As if the choice was already made, and she could not fathom that there was even another option.

Huh. Maybe Bella's straightforward approach was rubbing off on her. She was being far more upfront and blunt then ever before. No matter, it was done, and done rather well. Now she just needed to leave the Ministry before she could take her portkey back to the safe house and feed her darling again. That it had not been an hour since she fed him last escaped her notice.

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Narcissa appeared in what had become the portkey room of the safe house and smiled at the sound of innocent laughter. She followed the sound to find little Harry sitting on Bella's lap on the bed, trying to read a children's book while she tickled his sides.

It was one of the happiest scenes Narcissa could remember.

Harry was glowing with mirth and giggling with every ticklish touch, green eyes bright and a smile threatening to extend past his face. Bellatrix laughing softly too, and was flushed with-

..._Excitement?_

"Hello Cissy! I'm reading now!"

The little voice broke her thoughts and made her smile once more.

"Hello my darling, such a clever boy you are! Bella and I couldn't read until we were much older than you. My darling really is a smart young man, isn't he?"

"Yup!"

She and Bella shared a laugh at his glib reply. Narcissa conjured a chair and sat in front of them so she was level with them. She raised an eyebrow at the faint flush still lingering on her sister's cheeks, making it grow deeper for a moment before Bella enforced her will on her body and the rosy colour faded.

"Harry, my love, why don't you go sit in Cissy's lap for a bit? I've had you all this time and she must be missing you. You can show how how well my clever boy can read, too."

He nodded and she kissed his cheek before helping him slide down. He moved in front of Narcissa who helped him up to sit in her lap, before he opened the book once more and started to read the childish words.

It was beyond amazing how well he could read. She offered him compliments and sweet nothings while he read, idly stroking is hair. Perhaps they should start on his French and Latin lessons already, and maybe some others as well. The Goblin tongue would be very helpful in his dealings with them. Yes, they should start his education in earnest soon.

Bellatrix watched them as if expecting something to happen, and soon enough the story was finished and the sisters offered even more praise for his intelligence. Then Bella struck.

"I think our little boy wants to be tickled again, Cissy. Why don't you do the honours?"

Narcissa quirked an eyebrow even as Harry protested but it was a token effort, so she started stroking his sides and digging in her fingers in just the right places to make him squirm and laugh that beautiful little giggle.

It was such a nice sound, such a happy thing that she missed the satisfied look that settled on her older sister's face. Harry started squirming in earnest and laughing even harder, urging her on, but his little movements against her and his echoing laughter sent vibrations through her lap, and then she understood.

_Damn her._ Little Harry's laughter was making her excited! The feel of a warm body moving against her _there_, however unknowingly, soon had her flushing like nothing else. Mostly though it was embarrassment at her thoughts, at her body's betrayal, and that her sister had tricked her into this and was looking on with an evil, knowing smirk. Damn her again.

Suddenly she couldn't wait for time to pass. And by the look on Bella's face, she felt exactly the same.

...Maybe an ageing potion...?

...No, it was best to wait.

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Sirius Black opened his eyes to see the cold, clammy solid rock walls that were the limits of his world. He couldn't remember if he had been asleep or if he had merely blinked. Entire minutes later he concluded he must have blinked, because he couldn't remember throwing up from nightmares.

Not that he had to be asleep to have nightmares anymore.

Had it been weeks since he was thrown in his terrible cell, or years? Nothing marked the time passed. The walls were warded, charmed, and protected with runes against any form of damage. Every scrap of filth was likewise spelled to remain exactly the same so he couldn't even mark time by scraping away grime.

Not that he had anything to measure time by.

The Demons came and went as they pleased, food came and went seemingly at random. He couldn't recall seeing a single human face since the doors were locked. Perhaps it had been only a day? No, he had eaten several 'meals' and he was sure they didn't feed him that often. Wasn't he?

The screaming from the other cells was almost as bad as the screaming in his head. Every horrible thing he had witnessed, experienced, or imagined played through him over and over, with only short breaks that made it all the worse for the short reprieve.

Sometimes he was almost sure he was the one screaming. Almost. It was rather difficult to be sure of anything. He was pretty sure he wanted to rip the Rat apart piece by piece after playing upon his agony with the blackest of magicks no Black Heir could escape learning. Funny how he was now almost glad for the forced tutoring.

Sometimes he became Padfoot and everything became so much better, and so much worse. The memories of running around with his friends in their animal forms came back to haunt him with more clarity than ever. So he tended to stay human and suffer the agony he so felt he justly deserved for failing his best friend and his family.

Little Harry would be getting close to two now. Or was it five? Ten? No, it couldn't be ten. Surely. Little Harry so much like his father only with his mother's brilliant green eyes. Lily's eyes. Oh God, Lily. Dead too, just like James.

Sometimes he wondered if he was dead too. If this was hell, punishment for failing his friends. For letting them die.

When he heard footsteps coming closer to his cell he almost thought the Demons must have grown legs. Dementors with legs. Ha. That was almost a joke. Then two men dressed as jailers, prisoners, no wait, that wasn't right. Wardens? Shepherds? Guards?

Guards. He was in Azkaban. Right.

A thin wand poked through a certain hole in the door and suddenly his body froze from the neck down. He looked down at his body in surprise. He wasn't entirely sure it was there anymore. Apparently it was. That was good, wasn't it? Then the cell door opened and someone stepped in.

"Sirius, dear cousin, you don't look so well! I think I should take you to see the family healer. Oh! I guess that's me! Well come along then, don't dawdle."

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Bellatrix looked down at the petrified form of Sirius Black with something bordering on glee. She had decided he would have the honour of being graced by her presence first out of all the scum in Azkaban.

"No no, don't get up my dearest cousin! Allow me!"

A swish of her wand had him transfigured into a small but fat pink pig. Another movement and he was bound in tight chains that squirmed around him threateningly as if waiting for the chance to strangle the life out of him.

"It's a shame we're in such a hurry, but don't worry little Sirry, we'll have plenty of time to get reacquainted later." She ended with a purr that sent visible shivers through his unnaturally altered spine.

Bellatrix turned to one of the guards and spoke in a sickly sweet voice. "Could you be a dear and open the chest? Thank you!" Two more guards walked into the cell carrying a great wooden chest and blank expressions. It was opened to reveal what appeared to be a typical dungeon, completely with chains, flickering torches and torture equipment.

"In you go, Sirry! We'll talk more later."

The pig was levitated in and dropped into the magically enlarged trunk where one of the numerous chains lashed out to bind his small pig form to the wall. Bellatrix smiled and gestured the four guards out, with two of them carrying the still open chest to the next cell.

Sirius was the first of many.

One by one, each and every prisoner held in Azkaban was transfigured into small animals, petrified, bound, placed under stasis, and tossed into the chest where they were further bound by the chamber within. A little overkill, perhaps, but it was good practice if nothing else. Fun, too. Hardened criminals, ex-Death Eaters, murderers, rapists, thieves, scum of all sort and of course the innocently imprisoned, none escaped her collection.

This was the result of much planning and several weeks of preparation. Bribes, threats, subtle compulsions and an elaborate distraction ensured only the minimum Auror guard was in place, and several of them were freshly graduated and on their first rotation. A few well placed drugged bottles of various spirits lowered their defences and allowed Bellatrix to control them all ridiculously easily with her well cast Imperius curses.

It was enough to make her laugh all by itself. The supposedly most secure fortress in the world, and there she was skipping down the corridors while essentially breaking out every single prisoner.

Not that she would be letting them to free.

She was even beginning to think all the preparation might have been overdone. With a little bit of luck she could probably have done the same thing without all the bother. Still, it was better to be sure and use the advantages one had. And Narcissa had been having so much fun setting everything up for her.

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Crouch, in an effort to visit his son undetected, inspired by Cissy, of course, had used his remaining power as Head of the DMLE to rearrange the guard roster so that it held several Aurors loyal to himself, and some idiots who wouldn't know a conspiracy if it hit them in the face. The shifting rosters though, for Crouch was subtle enough to make several small changes instead of one attention-grabbing alteration, allowed greedy or certain weak-minded individuals to change a few extra names on the list, unnoticed amidst the others.

Such a shame Crouch had come down with a dangerously high fever days before his planned visit, one that resisted all cures. Not surprising though, given the stress of recent events. And a certain poison in his tea.

Narcissa had no difficulty getting the Ministry to go along with her proposal to set aside several Aurors and Hitwizards to search for Lucius and, more importantly to her, her son. Especially when virtually the entire Auror and Hitwaizard sections were begging to have a shot at the last free Death Eaters, lead by the ever ambitious Scrimgeour.

The bounty didn't hurt either.

The Wizengamot and Ministry agreed that Narcissa would have a special role in advising the squad, given her connection to its cause and her knowledge of the man in question. That it was her son's life at stake helped cut through any potential power-plays, and her testimony proved her loyalty did not lie with the Dark. Besides, as she was helping to fund it as well, she was entitled to know what her money was being spent on. So it was that she had absolute, unquestionable independent influence over the entire investigation.

Since things had calmed finally down after You-Know-Who's downfall, the Ministry had agreed to send quite a large number of wizards, for the first while at least. The number would naturally drop as time went by without leads, but somehow the sisters just had a feeling that wouldn't happen, and that the Ministry would give the squad a bigger budget.

The mass escape of Azkaban might warrant a bit of attention, after all.

After that it was easy for Narcissa to 'hear rumours' of her ex-husband appearing in France, actually a polyjuiced Bella with help from leftover hairs, wreaking havoc at a ministry offical's house. The hours of debate over whether the hair belonged to her or Lucius...

So the Aurors and Hitwizards were scouring the country, and Magical France itself was put on guard against Lucius. The rest was simple, with small bribes and threats and curses used to further weaken the Aurors' grip on Azkaban when their attention was turned to Lucius and France, with peaceful interaction always difficult between the two Ministries, let alone cooperation.

All in all, a rather fun bit of scheming.

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Eventually there were only two prisoners left, sharing a single cell. How they managed that Bellatrix couldn't imagine, but perhaps it had simply been because they were captured together, or some twisted kindness. Barty Crouch Jnr had been in a cell quite separated from them though... She shrugged. It didn't matter anymore. One cell left.

When her little procession came to the cell she had been saving for last, expectation and vicious excitement bubbled up out of her as a high, cold cackle.

The two Lestrange brothers woke from their Dementor-inflicted nightmares at the terrifying sound, only to fall unconscious at her spell before they could even see her face. She wanted to take her time with them, and as much as she longed to revenge herself upon them, and play with them, she knew she wouldn't be able to do it properly here.

While she was trying to decide what to transfigured them into, a certain smell forced its way over the accumulated filth and made her gag and then scoff with realisation. Oh this was simply too much. She had always suspected the possibility, but never imagined it could actually come to pass...

Eww. Men were such filthy pigs. Well, maybe not all of them. But definitely most.

Suddenly losing all desire to rip her 'dear husband' and his brother to shreds, as she wanted to do it with her hands and she would not touch them like _this_, Bellatrix petrified, bound, and dumped them into the trunk without bothering with the transfiguration. By now she had long since run out of original animals anyway, and it was getting rather repetitive.

Azkaban was now completely empty of all two hundred and thirty nine prisoners, and the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black now had the makings of an army. Weakened mentally by Dementors, they were ripe for the picking. Compulsion charms, memory charms, and addictive narcotic substances and potions would allow almost complete loyalty and control, with the full Imperius curse for the most delicate and important tasks. Or for fun.

Many of them were common scum, but quite a few were Marked Death Eaters, with several more sympathisers. Meaning they had access to wealth, be it legally theirs or not. Those bearing the Mark could be used for front assaults as all would assume them working for the Dark Lord or his replacement or some such, obviously Lucius. Leaving the Black sisters unnoticed and diverting attention, allowing stronger holds in the Ministry and Wizengamot to be taken by those with gold and cunning. Meaning them.

And with Narcissa's influence over the squad hunting for her _dearest_ _Lucius_, she was already perfectly positioned to take advantage of the growing raids.

But that was some time off yet. First she would interrogate each and every single one of them and rape their minds, through whatever means necessary, of everything useful. Then and only then would they strip them of free will, or in some cases bind the more useful ones' loyalty. The Imperious curse had several uses for the skilled caster.

The first and most basic rendered the victim little more than a puppet, being controlled utterly without any free will or conscious action. While still very useful, it required a rather large amount of attention and focus for any useful purpose. The caster had to maintain the connection, thus drastically limiting the curse, but also allowing the caster to continually reinforce the curse, making it vastly more difficult for the victim to win free.

The second and higher form enabled the victim able to act on their own at a basic level, depending on the skill and power of the caster. This required less focus as the victim didn't need constant attention, and the victim could act based on their interpretation of their orders, almost to the best of their ability with a very skilled caster. This form of the curse required a greater amount of power and much more skill, as the curse had to be tied into the victim's mind and left there, but was the most useful and hence most commonly performed. If such a curse could be used 'commonly'.

In this case, curse was not 'streamed' as with the lower form, but placed upon the victim. It could be reinforced, and was often necessary depending on the strength of will and resistance of the victim. The caster 'pushed' an amount of power into the curse and skilfully wove it, or simply dumped massive amounts of power, over the victim, letting it remain in place to dominate their will.

The third and highest form required enormous power and skill, but essentially left the victim with complete free will, mind intact with all knowledge and skills, but left the victim utterly loyal and obedient to any orders given by the spell caster. Unlike the first and second forms, it required no further attention whatsoever as the victim was completely independent. Unlike the second form, it did not interfere with the victims mind or personality at all, save for the obvious obeying of orders or any changes desired by the caster.

And unlike the lowest form, it did not drain the caster's magic for the duration of the curse. Unlike the second form, it's power did not wane as the victim fought against it. It was performed in such a way that it was grafted into the victim's own magic, feeding of it to keep itself active. The caster could dispel it, but failing that or the caster's demise, as no matter the grafting it was still originally the caster's magic, the curse would remain.

Of course the victim might manage to fight off the effects of the lower forms of the curse at any point should they have the strength, but the beauty of the full Imperius curse was that as soon as it 'took', the victim would lose all desire to fight it, and could not in any case. It took a lot more power, and skill, to place than any other, by several orders of magnitude, but the end result was an utterly loyal, completely intact victim.

Certain individuals that possessed incredible skills and talents for the mind arts would be able to interfere with the curse, more often than not resulting in unpleasantness for all involved. Even at best, though, all it would result in was a temporary reprieve before the curse reassertion itself, drawing on the victim's own magic. Such was the power of this highest form of the Imperious Curse.

Bellatrix had only once managed to place the full Imperius curse on someone worth bothering with in service of Voldemort, and it had left her weak and drained for far too many days for her to risk it again. She fully believed that had she been alone, she would have died, too weak in body and magic to get assistance, too muddled and confused to think of a solution, and slowly fading away. Only Voldemort himself was said to be able to perform it without such drastic exhaustion and mental fatigue, though even then it was whispered he did not enjoy it as it did leave him weakened, not a wise thing for a Dark Lord.

That was not to say it was not done, but it was usually by the most powerful under controlled conditions. The victim would be bound and have their mental defences weakened and broken over several days at the least, and the caster would have companions ready to help immediately afterwards. Ideally the victim would be naturally weak-minded, as in that case very little power was required, just enough to overpower their puny will. Many peons of countless Dark Lords had been acquired by just this method, though in these cases it was often not worth it as the second form would work perfectly, as its power only diminished when fought against.

But thanks to her beautiful little Harry, Bellatrix would one day have enough power. The possibilities this opened to her were staggering.

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**One of my least favourite chapters yet. I don't like this one at all, and will be changing it soon I think, but sometimes its best to just get something up before writer's block catches you. This chapter will be fixed soon, with much detail added and points expanded on.**

**Any thoughts on my take on the Imperius Curse? On the story so far?**


	8. Chapter 8

Bellatrix followed the four Imperious'd guards to the massive doorway marking the sole entrance, and more importantly exit, of the previously inescapable Azkaban. Well, technically they hadn't _really_ escaped, but still.

Everything had gone well, and she was now in possession of a chest containing the entire population of prisoners, all neatly incapacitated and ready to be used however she saw fit. It was all just so boringly simple, after all their planning. She sighed. Oh well, the next bit at least would be fun.

The drugged guards were levitated into different defensive spots around the entrance, _enervated_, and promptly killed with whatever spells she felt like. Cutting curses, some fireworks, a few Killing Curses to show the 'attackers' were ruthless, and she had the beginnings of a battleground. Their wands were destroyed in varying fashions as well to prevent their lack of defensive magic giving the game away. It was not unusual, wands were important and their desecration hardly a new idea.

Then the real fun began. The four guards were ordered to battle imaginary enemies to the best of their ability, using every possible spell and tactic as if in defense of all they held dear, and not to aim anywhere near her, naturally.

So Bellatrix conjured a chair and observed the show, sometimes throwing a hex or two into the fray to bloody things up a little. She even learnt a few neat little tricks, like a modified stunner that moved more slowly but could be made to bend a little around obstacles. Not all that useful, but the idea had some merit.

Eventually though the Aurors grew repetitive, so she banished her chair at them and ordered them to fight her.

Twenty seconds later Bellatrix was sending cutting curses at their wands with a sigh. It was probably for the best anyway, she had wasted enough time as it was. The chest was easily charmed to follow her which was not nearly as much fun as making others carry it, she snickered, and the sacker of Azkaban left its walls without a backwards glance.

Bellatrix briefly wondered how long it would take the Ministry to find the little presents she had left for them, before leaving the protective wards, taking hold of the chest, and vanishing with a flash of blue.

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Never in a thousand years would she have guessed interrogation could be possibly boring. She, _Bellatrix_, master of the _Cruciatus_ Curse and mistress of all things painful, was bored with interrogation!

The first week had been oh so _utterly_ _glorious_. Over two hundred victims from somewhat varying walks of life, a torture chamber designed by some anonymous ancestor, and unlimited time on her hands... It was a waking wetdream.

The _Cruciatus_ Curse rolled from her tongue, caressed by her perfect lips with such adoration time and time again. Her silver knife drank more blood than ever before, sometimes healing its bloody trail, more oftentimes not. Partially transfigured men blubbered and wailed out their life's knowledge, lest she leave them in their painfully, freakishly deformed bodies. Weeping women choked out their secrets, lest her wandering hands with their sharp claws leave scratches that _glittered_ with dark pain and her soft voice coo more horrible, _horrible_ possibilities.

All in all, a fantastic week. She even introduced her little love to her favourite hobby! Harry had watched with wide, curious eyes as she explained each and every curse used, why and how they worked, and every little nuance to knowing how to break a 'bad' person. Granted, she had used a few muffling charms to dull their screaming, and had held back a little as _some_ things weren't child-friendly, but he had surprised her once more by nodding along with every word.

By the end of the week, he had even offered a few ideas! Bellatrix indulged him with smiles, loving praises, and extra kisses and soft touches, of course. Simply positive reinforcement. So the man's arm had burnt off, a small price to pay for rewarding the inquisitive nature of her little dark prince! The man wasn't worth much anyway.

But then it had all gone so horribly, horribly wrong!

She had charmed the torture chamber to relay the sights of every victim writhing in agony to several large mirrors where the other prisoners could observe. And of course their screams were loud enough to be heard; it was only good sense to soften them up a little, after all.

But then they had to go and confess everything right away! No longer was any torture necessary, each and every prisoner she brought in would sing their secrets even before she said a word! They would make a copy of their entire memories to be labelled and stored carefully away, answer under a vastly diluted truth serum, as the stuff was expensive and more importantly difficult to come by in any great quantity, that lasted all of five seconds that, yes, it was indeed all of their memories. And then they would rattle off a disjointed list of everything they thought she might find important or useful while several legal dicta-quills scrawled out every word.

And she had to trawl through all their blubbered confessions for anything noteworthy!

The agony of it was mind numbing. She had already procrastinated for whole three hours perfecting several new curses to inflict this very same torture on others, and another five to try and find a counter. None existed. How fitting.

Bellatrix would have begged Narcissa to take her place, but her sister was too busy working her way and spreading her influence in the Ministry. And for some reason the prisoners felt more inclined to confess their secrets to her, whilst becoming less talkative without her presence. Both sisters had laughed at this. Narcissa could give Bellatrix a run for her money, she was simply quieter and less obvious about it, as a handful of their new playthings discovered.

Now after almost the third week, with far too many prisoners still remaining to be processed, Bellatrix made a decision. It was almost time for lunch, Harry was busy with his lessons in the pensieve and the timing was as good as it would ever get. So she stroked the little black gem on her ring three times, sending three pulses to the paired ring on her sister's finger, and waited.

Narcissa appeared in a blue flash several minutes later with a questioning look on her face. Bella knew she was busy today and nothing else was planned, what new plan had she thought up?

Bellatrix wasted no time.

"Cissy, I want to place a full Imperius Curse on one of our guests to help me go through... all this." She waved her hand at the plethora of papers and flasks of memories. The reasoning was simple; a perfectly loyal, obedient servant who retained full use of his or her faculties, intuition, logic and common sense could handle all of this and many other tasks, for them and free up a lot of their time. And, much more importantly, it would make sure Bellatrix never had to perform such a tortuously tiresome task ever again.

Narcissa sighed. They had been discussing this lately, and there was really only one person worth the effort, and the risk. Their cousin, Sirius.

The only other real contenders were other Inner Circle Death Eaters. While some had more skill in certain areas, none matched his intelligence. Sirius had been one of the brightest in his year, and for all his pranking and foolish behaviour, he was more cunning and powerful than all the others they held captive. Bella knew for a fact that the Dark Lord- that _Voldemort_ had been most displeased when attempts to recruit him proved worse than fruitless.

And he was family, which had to count for something. Sirius as their servant could be much more useful than his corpse. And if not, it would be easily rectified.

"Fine, but be sure to get a copy of his memories before you meddle with his mind. I am certain they will contain many things of use."

Bella snorted. "You just want to know for sure if it was he who pranked your hair Gryffindor red back in, what was it, your third year?"

Narcissa did not deign to reply and sniffed haughtily, which prompted outright snickering from her sister. "And it was just in time for the ball, too!"

"I seem to recall you were similarly pranked several years before that. At least I kept my hair."

Bella's glare would have frozen lava. She sniffed, unconsciously mimicking her younger sister and changed the subject.

"I'll fetch our beloved cousin while you collect Harry from his lesson. I'll signal you when."

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The first thing Sirius Black felt when he started to wake up was the lack of cold. His ripped, ragged, coarse clothing had been replaced, likely transfigured into soft black fabrics that reminded him of his play-clothes as a boy. His eyes were open before he was aware of it, taking in the smooth rock floor he was kneeling on. That it was warm and sloped gently down to a grate should have raised a few red flags, but he was just so glad to be warm.

Something shifted before him, and several seconds later he looked up.

"Hello, Sirius. You're looking better."

He squinted as if she were much further away. "_Bella?_ What- where?"

Her smile was one shade away from feral and this time he knew he was in trouble.

"You are my guest, dear Sirius. I have freed you from Azkaban when no other would. Your Dumbledore didn't even get you a trial, did he? You and I both know you are no Death Eater. Guess what?" Bellatrix flashed her left wrist.

"Neither am I."

He goggled. "Wha- but you-_ I saw_- how?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I am not a Death Eater, I rescued you when no one else would, as I have Harry." With that, she reached down to pat what could only be the child of James and Lily Potter. The spitting image of James in miniature, Harry was standing close to his cousin and holding onto her robes with one hand in an unmistakable gesture that countless children had made in the presence of strangers.

Little Harry, Prongs junior, pup, his godson and only living link to his father, was taking comfort in the presence of _Bellatrix_.

Because he was afraid of _him_.

"Harry? _Harry! _You've got to go, run! Get out of here! G-"

A coughing fit wracked his weakened body, sucking what strength he had managed to summon in his terror for the boy. The sticking charms holding him in place had prevented his lunge, but they were unnecessary. Few survived half as long as he in the presence of Dementors without succumbing to illness.

Sirius shivered as he overcame the last few tremors, and was startled to feel the unmissable presence of a warming charm. He looked up to see Bellatrix putting her wand away, and goggled once more. This was even less believable than seeing her without the Dark Mark.

"I've cracked, haven't it? Soul-suckers finally got me. Huh. Thought it'd be more messed up than this."

She smiled. He frowned. "No, Sirius. You are more or less as sane as you ever were. You remember Halloween night, when Hagrid took little Harry off you to take him to _Dumbledore?_ Your precious _Headmaster_ left him with muggles who _starved_ him. I found him half dead, _locked in a cupboard to die_. What's more, all the while his magic was being drained by Blood Wards."

She was soothing Harry without seeming to realise what she was doing as she continued talking. He wished that she, or rather anyone at all, was doing the same for him. _Dumbledore left Harry to starve with muggles? Where _Bellatrix_ could get him?_ There were no words for his rage and sorrow.

"So I saved him. I took him and fed him, and now Cissy and I care for his every need. We want him to have some male influence, and we believe yours is the best suited. It will take some time before you recover, and even longer before we trust you enough with our Harry, so we ask that you make a copy of your memories so he can watch them in our pensieve."

Sirius was quiet for several long moments as this sank in. With James... no longer around, Remus off who knew where, and the traitor in hiding, there was no one else to pass on the Marauders Legacy.

It would be the only way young Harry could see his parents as they were in life...

Choked up, he asked, "How did you know?"

She shrugged elegantly. "I asked you beforehand while you were under Veritaserum. Apparently you are worse off than we thought if you can't remember. And before you ask, _Wormtail_ has not been seen since he faked his death, and has been awarded the Order of Merlin for seeking you out. We have an eye out for rats, but there is not much we can do."

He nodded absently before locking eyes with those echoing Lily's brilliant green ones. "Are you happy with her? Are you treated well?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Bella and Cissy are the best! Cissy's busy lots now, but she brings presents now and she got me a faster broom and it can go higher than me and its really really fast and I like it lots. And-"

Sirius grinned at the excited tone and the speed of his answer, and listened as Harry went on and on about all the neat presents Cissy brought him and how his days went. He could literally see the happiness welling up inside the boy, but it was the soft, warm smile on his cousin's face as she watched that settled the matter.

There was no way she had been capable of that smile before Harry.

Eventually Harry ran out of things to say and suddenly he was bashfully shy once more, ducking behind Bella's robes a little to the accompaniment of the adults mild chuckling. Sirius looked up at Bella and gave his answer

"I'll give you my memories. Please let me be a part of his life. I'm his godfather, let me help raise him. Please."

She nodded and retrieved both her wand and another. He recognised the second wand, it was a generic spare used by Aurors and low-class assassins. It's five inch length and weak core left it easily concealable yet underpowered and difficult to direct at any distance over a few feet.

A quick _Accio_ had a flask flying into reach, and Bella passed him the generic wand point first before stepping back, her own wand trained on him at all times. He smiled wryly at the thought that he might be capable of attempted to escape; he felt like he would collapse at any time.

Slowly so as not to startle the deadly witch with her wand pointed at his heart, he raised the wand to his left temple, drawing it across his forehead to his right, before twisting it slowly and pulling it away. There clinging to the wand was a thick strand of silver-grey, swirling like mist. He kept pulling as more and more flowed from his temple, before the strand broke free and he placed it in the flask, leaving the wand behind as he did. He doubted she would be upset with him for not including details about the Order of the the Phoenix, such as faces, places, names or in fact anything beyond a few pranks and private words with Remus, James and Lily.

Hell, Bella would probably be disappointed if he didn't give her the opportunity to torture _something_ out of him.

Bellatrix summoned the flask and pocketed the second wand, before a flick of her wand left the name 'Sirius' printed across it in black ink and then the whole thing was banished to the cupboard of other memories.

"Thank you, Sirius. That will help little Harry a lot, I think. Do you want to help Harry beyond that? To be in his life, always?"

"_Yes_. Please." Came his thick reply. He'd do anything for Harry. More importantly, he'd say anything for the chance to get Harry out of her clutches, no matter how happy she seemed for now. Sooner or later she'd snap and he didn't want Harry anywhere near her when that happened. Even at best if she didn't hurt him, she was the absolute last person he'd want raising Harry, bar none. Well, maybe except Greyback. But only just.

She smiled, and this time it was not so warm. "Remember that, and this will be easier. Cissy!"

Narcissa strode into the room and smiled as Harry waved up at her. She took a position behind her sister and looked down at Sirius, who was starting to feel anxious. Something about the situation reminded him of something bad, made him want to crawl back under his covers in bed and hide from the monsters...

"Now Sirius, we want your help. Truly, we do. You would be a tremendous asset to us, if only we could trust you not to run off with our beloved Harry."

Something about her flat tone, but excited expression...

"So we decided to make sure of your loyalty, to make sure you can never betray us. Or do something foolish with Harry."

Something about the glint in her eye...

"Don't worry though, you won't regret this."

Something about the way her voice lilted just so...

"You won't regret anything ever again."

Something about their now unmasked glee...

"_Imperio!_"

Made him want to scream and run away.

But then it had always been far too late for that.

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**I am not finished with the previous chapter, but thought it best to move on before writer's block grew. What do you think of this?**

**Oh, and thank you for everyone who follows this story! It's now over a thousand! How awesome are you guys?**

**If you follow or favourite, please review and let me know what you think! Thank you!**


	9. Chapter 9

So time passed by. Sirius, under the full _Imperius_ Curse, took over the management of the other prisoners save for the Lestrange brothers. Bella still visited them from time to time for fun. She had cursed their eyes so they couldn't see, and their tongues so their couldn't speak. Every time she entered their cell they woke, and every time she left they fell into a charmed deep slumber within moments.

Their entire existence was narrowed down to feeling the pain only her _Cruciatus_ Curse could bring, hearing her laughter, and having cursed nightmares of the same. Every so often Bella would bring her little Harry in to see them for his lessons, where she would further demonstrate various dark curses both with and without her wand. Some spells simply needed to be used on victims to be learnt properly, and with the amount of power her little dark prince put into his curses there was no way she was going to suggest he use them on her.

Apart from the pain and damage, Bellatrix didn't want the negative emotions he summoned to properly cast the spells to be associated with her in any way. Besides, her beloved seemed to take great pleasure in harming Rodolphus in particular. Rabastan he cursed happily enough, but her ex-husband suffered so _beautifully_ under his magic that it made her shiver.

The turning point had been while attempting to teach Harry the _Cruciatus_ Curse. She had lent him her secondary wand as usual; she didn't want him to get his own yet as the bonding hindered magical development when it occurred too young, but both she and Narcissa thought it best to get him used to a wand and the movements and incantations. Harry had been able to cast it after less than an hour of practice, but he couldn't maintain it properly for it to last more than just enough to knock someone over.

They had put it off for later when further practice yielded no improvement, to Harry's annoyance and to Bella's confusion. True it was a powerful curse, especially for one so young! But he had cast more powerful spells, more complex spells with greater ease than this. It was designed to be simple and easily learned, and it wasn't as though he were squeamish, after all she had shown him...

It had been Narcissa who realised what the problem was when she sat in on the next lesson to try and help him through his block. She had wandlessly erected some privacy wards before the lesson as usual so that their playthings didn't have the benefit of hearing anything but their own screams and Bella's laughter, a feat that filled her with pride and a growing sense of power.

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"Harry, my darling, do you know who this is? This is Rodolphus Lestrange. On Bella's seventeenth birthday, she was given to him by our mother to be his wife, even though he was bad. He tried to do bad things to her for many years but she managed to stop him each time. But because he was her husband she couldn't do anything about it until he got caught."

Harry's eyes widened and he turned to Bella. "He was your husband?"

Bella considered before answering. "Legally, yes. Technically, no. We were legally married and bound by contract, but I did not allow him to consummate the marriage." At Harry's confused expression, which was so adorable it earned him several kisses, she elaborated.

"When a couple is married they consummate the marriage, they make it official, by bonding in body, blood and magic by having sex. Usually, preferably, the woman is a virgin, having never had sex before. When they have sex for the first time blood is shed between them and mixed. It can work without the woman being a virgin but it is infinitely more powerful, and socially acceptable, if she is.

"At our wedding, Rodolphus was cursed by an angry past lover but he pulled me into its path and used me as a shield. Don't worry, I am fine." Bella had already asked him to feel her tummy and see if he could sense or 'fix' anything wrong, but he had not noticed anything beyond her warm, soft skin. Her magic simply didn't, couldn't, flow there anymore so he sensed nothing wrong. She held some small hope that he would be able to do something when he was older and more skilled, but she ruthlessly crushed and caged it lest it cause her more pain.

She took a small breath and continued.

"So I decided to never allow him to touch me that way, no matter how he tried."

She gave a wolfish grin, flashing a look at Cissy before turning it to her little Harry. "I'm still a virgin, Harry." Technically.

Narcissa spluttered but Harry turned to her with eyes brimming with questions before she could say anything about that statement.

"Er, no, Harry, I'm no longer a virgin. My husband was Lucius Malfoy, and he was not bad to me until recently so we did consummate our marriage. But his recent actions have negated our marriage contract and destroyed anything good between us."

He considered this for a little while before nodding as if in acceptance. But then his question caught her off guard.

"Was it good?"

Narcissa spluttered once more while Bellatrix tried in vain to contain her laughter.

"What?"

Not at all put off and more confused than anything else by their reactions, Harry pressed on with his innocent question, green eyes shining with curiosity.

"Was secks good?" He'd heard a little about it in the pensieve but wasn't too sure, apparently it was meant to feel good or something.

Bella actually fell over laughing, cackling madly at the sheer hilarity of the expression on her sister's face.

Dying inside, Narcissa pulled herself together before she fainted into blessed unconsciousness. She'd get Bella back for her laughter...

Suddenly she smiled and pulled little Harry to stand before her where she sat, thankful that she had been unable to fall over. She stared deep into his eyes, cupped his cheek and stroked his hair with her soft, pale fingers while she waited for Bella's laughter to die down. When it was quiet enough she leaned forward and whispered, just loud enough for her sister to hear.

"It was not nearly as good as it could have been, or as it will be with you." Before kissing his cheek near the corner of his lips, pulling him into her embrace and stroking her nails down his back, all the while smirking at a suddenly furious Bella.

Harry pulled back after a while and he kissed her cheek with an innocently happy smile on his face. "Ok! Do we do that now or after the lesson?"

Both sisters froze before exchanging a glance, then looking away giggling.

Bella spoke up into the silence to answer his rather interesting question. "My sweet, it's something that usually happens... years later. Normally when you are at least- well. Older. The legal age varies between the different ministries, if you bother with that ridiculous mass of stupidity, but more important is your... physical and emotional development. You are still very young my love, but perhaps we can... _practice_... before then...

"Not for years yet though, my love. And besides, I'm first, remember? Although we have gotten off the topic of this lesson."

Harry nodded and turned back to Rodolphus, missing Narcissa's small glare at her sister at the mention of _her_ being first, who was breathing short breaths and cringing in anticipation, the magical silence getting to him almost as much as Bella's laughter.

He took a moment to think about the fact that this was the man who had tried to do bad things to Bella, the man who had been her husband, the man who had tried to _touch_ her...

Something rose and grew within him, and he took it and threw it into his curse. _"Crucio!"_

Rodolphus screamed himself hoarse.

Harry looked at him with the makings of his very own twisted smile as Bella's spare wand channeled pleasure at his victim's pain through his arm up and into every part of him.

Narcissa looked on with pleased surprise, pride, and some small concern. Her little Harry was growing up so fast, maybe too fast.

Bella looked on with want. Her little dragon had just breathed his first flames and his power was _beautiful_.

Somewhere undefinable, two figures clung to each other sobbing, and looked away.

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**Thought it end should here! Poor James and Lily. Rest of the chapter up tomorrow.**


	10. Chapter 10

Under a little... proper motivation, the other prisoners had all been persuaded to sign over everything they owned in the most binding of contracts. Not that it would be that simple, the Ministry wouldn't exactly honour such things with convicted men, but it would make things better in the long run, and more importantly, the Goblins held nothing against criminals. So long as the clients committed no crimes against themselves, and could do business, naturally.

Bellatrix had been bedridden for two days after casting the full _Imperius_ Curse on Sirius, even with little Harry feeding from her nearly constantly. He explained that drinking from her magic was more like taking a sip than the deep gulps it had been like before, and even when she was back to her full strength she had noticeably less power than before. Thus they discovered the full price of the highest form of _Imperius_. Not only did it require so much magic, it also damaged or borrowed from the caster's magical potential.

Needless to say, Bellatrix was aghast and both sisters instantly agreed such measures would not be taken lightly. By the end of the week, during which Harry had done little but drink himself to sleep, wake, and drink some more, Harry claimed Bella's power was almost back where it had been.

Sirius was sent out after a full day of questioning and testing to ensure the _Imperius_ had taken properly. It had, so each day their newest vassal was sent out with several prisoners, one at a time, to gather any wealth or desirable objects they possessed and had squirrelled away. Their cousin was more than able to handle any of the weakened convicts, more so after they fed him restorative potions and several large meals.

When the sisters had given Sirius a brand new invisibility cloak, freshly enchanted and guaranteed to last up to eight years with care, it provoked a startling revelation. They had thought only to avoid suspicion, as the continued rate of several people signing their vaults and contents to what was easily (for goblins) confirmed to be one holder didn't exactly help hide their consolidation of wealth. The last thing they needed was for someone to notice Sirius standing there with his wand trained on them, and polyjuice potion only went so far and was expensive to brew besides. The fact that it was also very useful in all kinds of circumstances that they would order him into made it well worth its exorbitant price.

Sirius had accepted it with a bittersweet smile and reminisced about the invisibility cloak that he and his friends used all through their school years. James Potter had possessed an invisibility cloak so finely enchanted that it had not faded, nor torn or in any way tarnished over more than seven years. When they heard it had belonged to James' father, and his father before him, the sisters nearly fell over. It was happening more often than they would like to admit.

While Sirius had never been one to read for pleasure, especially children's fairy tales, as he claimed it unmanly, his cousins had no such inhibitions. The tale of Death and the Three Brothers had been a favourite for the three Black sisters to discuss and argue about. Which object would they prefer? Which brother would they prefer to marry? What would they have done with the objects? What objects would they themselves make one day?

It had long since been decided that Bella would have had the Elder Wand, Narcissa would have had the Resurrection Stone, and Andromeda would have had Death's Invisibility Cloak. Andy had put up a fight, wanting the Wand, but had agreed that Bella was her superior in a duel and thus would win the Wand anyway.

The two sisters still talking to each other had shaken off the nostalgia, guilt, hurt, and anger that the thoughts of their wayward sister had brought up, and quickly fell into a discussion about the Deathly Hallows. In their childhood they had been quite serious about inventing their own three powerful objects and having tales told of the Black Sisters Three, enough to research and discover the legends and rumours surrounding the real Hallows.

To find out one actually existed, and that their cousin had held it and been near it for so long...! Their mood had crashed when Sirius explained that Dumbledore had taken an interest in the cloak and had borrowed it, and still held possession of it to the best of his knowledge.

Hearing this, they grew absolutely certain that it was the genuine article, for what else could have captured Dumbledore's interest at the height of the war? There was nothing to be done but wait and hope he returned it to the rightful Potter Heir, or failing that, for Harry to claim it when he was old enough, he was too young to risk the conversation right now. Dumbledore would surely guard it properly in the meantime.

The knowledge that their little Harry was also the direct descendant of the third brother of the tale, the last living Peverell of the legend, diverging from the line of first born males only when no sons were born, provided exciting possibilities. But they too would have to wait, for such things were best verified upon reaching one's majority.

Now they had even more reasons to wish for time to fly.

In the meantime, life went on. Sirius encountered no problems in acquiring everything of worth the prisoners had access to, including their vaults. Narcissa managed to ride the wave of anger, frustration and fear the Azkaban escape had created to an even greater level of influence in the Ministry, particularly over her squad of Aurors and Hitwizards.

Bella and Sirius had the weaker minded prisoners under their control and forced them to attack several very public and visible locations. The less than reputable wand maker who had sold a polyjuiced Bella a dozen fairly decent, if sluggish, black market wands found himself ripped to shreds by the very objects he sold. The rest of his wares would supply their needs nicely, and more importantly, let the rest of the world know it.

Sirius was of course properly equipped with a new wand from Ollivander's shop, tested and purchased while Mr Ollivander was _confunded_.

So Narcissa's squad grew larger and more prominent. Though she was not technically their leader, they were answerable to, and largely funded by, her. Several prisoners were sacrificed every so often so that she could prove successful, but they had plenty of spellfodder and did not miss them.

Bella and Cissy thought it best to limit the interaction between their little Harry and Sirius until there was no danger of their cousin having too great an influence on him. So they kept Sirius away from Harry, and ordered him not to approach his godson yet. There would be time for that later, years later. At a controlled rate.

For the next few years Harry spent his days playing, learning magic and everything needed to thrive in the noble and dangerous worlds of magic, both in and out of the pensieve, and feeding from both sisters whenever possible. Life was good.

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Harry's sixth birthday was notable for the great gifts he received. Books, trinkets, toys, enchanted objects and weapons, and different creatures to play with and study for a time were nothing new to him; the sisters loved showering him with gifts. What was special was that he received a playmate. Once the gifts were opened and set aside, and proper thanks given, Bella brought in the man and explained.

"Harry, my love, do you remember this man? His name is Sirius Black, he is our cousin and first in line to be Head of our House. He was named your godfather, and has made you his heir so you will be the next Lord Black. I placed a full _Imperious_ Curse on him several years ago and we have been using him to further our goals, as you know. Cissy and I think it is time for you to meet him properly.

"He has been ordered to obey you and protect you, and he would do that anyway. He has to lie low for the next few months, he was nearly caught and further rumours about him are not helpful right now. Just remember to be careful and clever, and please let us know before you try anything risky."

With that and a few kisses, Cissy and Bella left the two alone to get to know each other. While discreetly spying, of course. Harry stared at the man, taking in his appearance. Sirius Black was tall and well built with a handsome face and a roguish expression. His black hair reached down almost to his shoulders in elegantly wild waves, much like Bella's but far less beautiful. His clothing was mostly dark and well made, but it had faded slightly from travel and use. His stance was strong and casual, belying the anxiety building up behind his dark eyes. This was a powerful man, almost like a male Bella but lacking her darker nature.

Harry loved it. He was the perfect servant for him. He gestured a little awkwardly for the man- Sirius, to take a seat and broke the silence.

"Hello, Sirius Black. So you're my godfather?"

Sirius sat across from him, staring all the while with a faintly sad but wide smile.

"Call me Padfoot, or just Sirius, pup. Preferably Padfoot. Look at you! All grown up before you're even at Hogwarts. You'll be taller than me soon." He ended with a laugh when Harry's eyes narrowed as he scowled. Harry was patently no where near half as tall as Sirius. Mentally mature beyond his years, though not as much as he thought or wished, it was a source of constant frustration to him that his body simply wouldn't catch up. Bella and Cissy promised him that one day soon he would be tall and powerfully built, but soon just refused to hurry up and happen already.

Shaking his head to clear his frustrating thoughts, Harry pondered the nickname. "Padfoot... You don't look sneaky, what's with the nickname? Are you a _ballerina?_"

A loud laugh was barked at at that, before it died and strong, unreadable emotions flickered over his godfather's face, and Harry almost felt the need to apologize for something he didn't understand. Then Sirius shook his head and smiled sadly.

"Back in school your father and I were best friends, closer than brothers. We had two other friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew the _traitor_." He growled. "In first year we discovered that Remus was a werewolf and we decided to master the Animagus transformation to help him through his painful transformations. It took a few years but we managed it, transfiguration was your father's best subject though I was only barely behind him. Your dad's form was a stag, Pettigrew the traitor is a rat," Harry nodded at that, rats had gained a specially place of loathing in his heart when he heard that tale.

"...and I'm _this_."

It happened so fast that Harry actually missed it when he blinked. There in his godfather's place was a large black dog, grinning and panting up at him before woofing and transforming back. Sirius chortled at his godson's startled expression.

"You are so teaching me how to do that. But for now, it's my birthday, and your new lord demands a horseback ride."

Sirius laughed at that and gave a sweeping bow. "Of course, my Lord Pup. All aboard!" And he transformed into his Animagus form and bowed low to let Harry scramble on, and then they were off prancing around laughing his head off while Harry giggled.

He wasn't laughing three hours later.

That boy was a menace! Three whole hours later and Harry was still riding on his back giving orders like a general on his war-dragon. It wouldn't have been so bad if he was allowed to stay in his dog form, he had incredible stamina like that, but Harry had ordered him back and forth between forms every other minute. His human back wasn't built for this!

The next three weeks would have crippled him, but for the grace of magic. It seemed like every spare moment Harry had that wasn't dedicated to learning or feeding was focused entirely on riding Sirius like a steed and laughing as he switched between Sirius and Padfoot.

Bella and Cissy had found it cute at first, and taken no small amount of pleasure in the humiliation and pain of their cousin, but it was starting to get ridiculous. Worse, they were starting to get jealous. Harry played with them less and less as he focused on his new toy, but surely he would tire of it eventually? Why did he find it so entertaining, anyway? He already had animated toys to ride.

The answer was both stunning and pleasing.

Just three weeks later at breakfast for the sisters, as their meals were always staggered now with little Harry's unique diet, and when Sirius was resigned to constant back pain and humiliation while they looked on bemusedly, Harry decided he didn't want a ride.

"No thanks Padfoot, I don't need any more rides. I've got it now!"

The large black dog blinked in surprise and barked his confusion before transforming back into Sirius and collapsing gratefully on his back to stretch. "Oh?" Bella called, with a sudden glint of understanding in her dark eyes. "Do show us then, my clever little dark lord."

Harry smirked. He knew his Bella would figure it out, and by the look dawning on Cissy's face she had worked it out as well. "Ok then. Here goes."

He leaned forward and crouched over to walk on all fours, but by the time his hands hit the floor he had seamlessly morphed into a smaller replica of Padfoot. Thick black fur covered his new body, though it was not so shaggy or long as his godfather's. Dark green eyes shone out from his canine face and took in the surprised smiles of his little family. He barked what had to be a laugh and ran in a circle, wagging his tale.

"Well, isn't that interesting." Narcissa mused, a small yet intrigued smile crossing her full mouth as observed the transformation. Idly, she wondered if the Grim-like dog was actually Harry's Animagus form or if it was some sort of Self-Transfiguration, or even some hybrid of the two. He certainly seemed in full control of himself, and it appeared exactly the same as the Animagus transformation.

After three straight weeks, they were all quite familiar with exactly how it looked.

In any case, a full blown transformation at that age, without a wand no less, was... Intriguing. And the method he had used to learn it, constant contact with one transforming back and forth...

As these thoughts were racing through her mind, Sirius what transformed into a dog once more and was busy playing tag with his newly canine godson, who was morphing back and forth whenever advantageous in their game. "Do it again! Do it again!" Bella cheered enthusiasically, applauding and grinning madly as her mind began to echo similar possibilities to those her sister was thinking of, but with a twist.

Narcissa thought she and her sister should learn the skill themselves, no doubt at an increased rate with their little Harry's help, for its own sake and the possibility of helping him learn new forms from theirs.

Bellatrix had skipped past that and was thinking that they would soon be perusing the list of those registered with the skill, and paying some of them a visit. Or more accurately, inviting them over. For a lengthy stay or two.

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**Some more skimming through the months. Things will be progressing faster soon. What do you think?**


	11. Chapter 11

By Harry's eighth birthday he had mastered more combat spells than the average Auror. Not that he knew more spells overall, or had more skill, though in some cases certainly so, but he had true understanding and mastery over those that he knew.

In general 'spells' and magical knowledge he varied. He had many charms from higher years mastered, but lacked knowledge of several simpler ones. In transfiguration he fluctuated even more wildly, being able to transfigured things on large scales and with significant power and skill, but several more basic applications and fundamental laws escaped him. In these cases he simply wandlessly accomplished his desire, but both Bella and Cissy insisted he learn how 'normals' did it for further knowledge that might aid him, and so he could blend in.

Potions at a higher level intrigued him with their subtle possibilities and powers, but basic recipes bored him. Why brew a potion to cure minor burns when a more potent one could do so far more quickly, and heal much deeper injuries? He had the problems that arise from learning from the best and studying what interested him; he had skipped the basic lessons and so had no patience for recipes used to teach beginners.

So he knew the most efficient recipes, and the most basic ones that could be made from virtually anything if need be, and studied those that interested him. It was something of a passion of his, which surprised the sisters, but when magic came so easily and with such power, what could hold his interest more than the means to accomplish things he could not?

Felix Felicis, for one, had effects he could never replicate. Ridiculously good luck? The sheer number of things the potion had to effect and manipulate to accomplish its design was infinitely more complex than any charm, and to do so for an extended time? Well beyond any personal magic, no matter how powerful or refined. Even his would never be capable of replicating.

History fascinated him. How could it not, with two intelligent teachers debating it before him? Narcissa would begin a lesson very professionally, but before long Bellatrix would interrupt with snarky commentary about this Dragon Raid, that Dwarf Undermining, or that other Goblin Rebellion, and things got even more interesting. Bella was snarky, but Cissy had this cool, collected way of getting back at her.

Sometimes Harry would watch his own pensieved memories of one such lesson several times and find new insults and implications with each new viewing. His record was watching the one scene six times before fully catching each and every insult.

The pensieved history lessons were rather dull, but the debates afterwards more than made up for it. Bella or Cissy would pick a situation, be it a battle, a war, an international incident or trading proposal or something else, and ask him what could have been done better, on each side. He wasn't very good at this at first, but the sisters were brilliant and they helped him a lot. Harry was convinced that had either of them been around a hundred years ago, Cissy would be puppetmaster of the world, and Bella would be ruling it with a bloody wand.

Sometimes he wondered who would have won if both existed back then, on opposite sides.

Bellatrix had more personal power and practice wielding it, and she had delved further into the intricacies of magic. Her fiery, cruel, sadistic nature made her a force to be reckoned with and she had the cunning to wield the fear she inspired to great effect.

Narcissa had less power but was more inventive, less direct with how she used it. Bella wielded her spells like a master swordsman would their weapon, but Cissy used hers like a dagger to supplement her finely honed scheming. A small smile and a sharp silver tongue complimented her politician's mind.

After several days pondering it, Harry came to the conclusion that Bella would likely win a war between the two, but Narcissa would make it a Pyrrhic victory after years of conflict, followed by decades of sabotage in all forms. That being said, they were so evenly matched that the slightest bit of luck either way would change everything.

Together, with Narcissa controlling the politics and Bellatrix handling everything of a more direct nature, the two sisters were perfect. As far as he could tell.

Astronomy was nothing but rote memorisation of constellations, star moments, and their meanings with the added bonus of mythology and legend thrown in. Those stories were the only thing to keep him awake during the long hours spent watching the lessons in the pensieve.

Herbology was interesting only so far as it pertained to higher potions. Or if the plants were deadly, or cool.

Likewise Care of Magical Creatures held his interest only subjectively, but with more of a focus on an imaginary army of dragons, griffins, hydras, acromantulas, basilisks, and all manner of deadly and dangerous things.

Speaking of snakes, Harry could speak to snakes. That had been an interesting discovery.

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"_Stupefy! Incarcerous! Bombarda!_" Bellatrix cast as she spat out the words aloud, more for her student's sake. She had long passed the need for silly verbal incantations, even before she found Harry she had been easily capable of casting the Killing Curse silently.

"_Protego_!" Harry blocked all three incoming spells with the one altered shield, much to Bella's annoyance and growing pride. That the shield held even while he sent curses sailing through it back at her only made her smile more. Now if she could get him to pay attention to the lesson and reduce his apparent skill level like she had been trying all morning...

She dodged his wordless spells and frowned at them. She'd have to tell him off later, this was meant to be about pretending to lack nonverbal spell casting, not to mention that shield he sustained and altered wandlessly, but for now she'd continue as she had before.

If he could maintain that shield, she would simply have to go around it.

"_Serpensortia_!"

A long black snake shot from her wand and slithered quickly towards its target, pushed on by the compulsion charm built into the slightly dark conjuration. Bellatrix had to shield it from several verbalised cutting curses as her little Harry attempted to do away with it so he could focus wholly on her. She smiled, he must have caught her frown and remembered something of what this was about.

He kept trying to kill the snake, and it made her laugh to see his annoyed expression when she stopped him. He was sometimes so single minded in his desire to keep things simple, going after one thing at a time. Perhaps she and Cissy should start training him against larger numbers...

Even as she planned out future lessons, Bella ducked a stunning spell and wandlessly pushed the snake further along while retaliating with a flurry of bright spells chosen to distract him. If he could cheat then so could she, and besides, more than a few Aurors could do one or two spells wandlessly. Better to be prepared.

Meanwhile the snake, having righted itself from its abrupt trip across the duelling platform, recovered from its compulsion and hissed its confusion and anger.

"_Sstupid, arrogant humanss, pushing us around in their light-fighting. Why can't they jusst kill each other and leave us alone?_"

So absolutely shocked was Harry at hearing the snake speak that he forgot about the practice duel and promptly found himself knocked back against the wall and relieved of consciousness.

Bella, horrified at the thought that she had actually hurt her darling little love, vanished the snake without thought as she rushed over to help her Harry. A quick diagnosis spell found him simply stunned, the cushioning charms on the walls and floor having prevented any actual harm, so she woke him with a smile on her face and prepared to gloat about besting him with a simple stunner.

Harry woke up to her smug smile with his usual eloquence following revival. "Urg amahm gah. What- Bella? The snake! It talks! Where'd it go?"

A quick glance around revealed his fear that she had vanished it. Not losing hope, he looked back to her now confused face.

"Summon it back! It could speak! Can you call the same snake back? Serpensortia transports an already existing snake here, right? Can you call back that exact one? What's the matter? I'm fine! You must have heard it!"

He swatted away her wand which was in the middle of performing another diagnosis spell. She looked concerned. "Harry, my love... it was only hissing, and barely at that as I wanted it to sneak up on you. You must have hit you're head harder than I thought. Either that or you're a Parselmou-"

Bella straightened as if struck by lightening. "You heard it speak- Are you sure? What am I doing, I can just-"

And with that, she wordlessly brought forth another snake and sent it to the middle of the room. At first Harry heard nothing but angry hisses and was beginning to think it had been only that last snake, which was rather disappointing. But then the snake seemed to reach its goal and abruptly began looking around, cursing in sibilant English, much to Harry's delight.

"_Where am I? Puny humanss steal be away from my ssleep. Drag me through that horrible space and make me crawl on their strange ground. I should bite them, oh yess I should, but they'll slay me with their cursed spells. Damn those fleshy warm sacks of meat._"

Harry chuckled a little and replied.

"_Sorry about that, we didn't mean to drag you here. Are you alright?_"

The serpent blinked and froze in shock, as did Bella.

"_A sSpeaker! It has been so long... I apologise, master. What must I do?_"

"_Erm, nothing really. I just wanted to talk. I've never spoken to a snake before, how is it I can understand you?_"

_"Master wishes to sspeak? It is my pleasure. One of the first was Herpo the Great. He discovered the ssecrets of the Kings, the Basilisks, and how to breed them, and wished to sspeak with them. sSo he stole the gift from one blessed, and bound it to his bloodline, so they would all have the gift._

_"It was one of his egglings who went further. sSalazar sSlytherin the Wise used his arts to bind his cunning to all sSerpent kind, so hisss mind would survive him. sSadly much was undone by fools, but we are still cunning._

_"Does that answer your questionss, master?"_

_"Yes, thank you. How do you know all this, anyway? Do you teach your- egglings?"_

_"No, master. It is born knowledge to us, it iss seared into our scales."_

Harry found himself nodding along, it made sense to him that this Herpo the Great and Salazar Slytherin would want their influence known. Salazar was not exactly known to be humble.

_"Thank you for telling me, it was very interesting. Is there anything I can do for you?"_

_The snake shook its head, which resulted in its body swaying side to side in a rather interesting movement. "No, master. It iss enough to serve. May I be ssent back"_

_"Ok. Umm, bye then, I guess. Thanks." _And with a flick of his hand, the snake was vanished and sent back to exactly wherever it came from.

Harry turned to find Narcissa had joined them at some point, probably called by Bella, and both sisters were standing there in shock.

"Umm, are you ok? What's wrong?"

Cissy was the first to come back to herself. "Nothing is wrong, sweety. It's just that Parseltongue, the ability to speak to snakes, is rather rare. The last to have this ability was Voldemort. We didn't know you had this gift, and it changes a few things."

She and Bella shared a look. They had thought the horcrux inert, or benign, but for it to pass on something as complicated as a magical language... They would have to start studying his scar once more. Bella joined in.

"This is excellent! Parseltongue is a valuable gift to have, Harry. The ability to control snakes, to speak an ancient magical language... This could have many interesting uses. We should look into spellcrafting in Parseltongue. The added power of so rare and ancient a language- and a magical language at that! I wonder if this language could be taught, even if to a small extent it could be very useful. Hmm.

"But we will speak of that later! What did it say? What did you say? It gave me such shivers to hear you hissing like that."

Harry's face shifted in confusion. He had been hissing?

"But I was just speaking in English. So was he! Well, with a few drawn out Ss..."

"Harry, my love, you were speaking Parseltongue. We could hear nothing but hissing, from either of you." Narcissa nodded along with her sister.

"...ok. Well, er, at first he was upset at having been brought here, and wishing he could bite us but knowing we'd probably just kill him with a spell." Both sisters were surprised at that; this snake apparently knew wizards.

"Then I apologised and he called me a 'speaker' and became very polite and called me 'master'. I asked how I could understand him, and he told me about how someone called 'Herpo the Great' discovered how to breed Basilisks and stole Parseltongue from someone 'gifted' with it so he could speak to them, and bound Parseltongue to his bloodline.

"Then he said Salazar Slytherin was one of Herpo's 'egglings', and made it so his mind was bound to snakes, but that 'some fools' had undone much of it, but not all. Umm, I think that was about it. Oh, and snakes are born with that knowledge, apparently."

Bella and Cissy exchanged another look. Bella sighed, and left without word to go collect the various books she just knew would be the bane of her existence for the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Narcissa conjured a desk and chair and summoned parchment and a quil.

"Now, Harry, conjure a snake and write down everything either of you say."

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The extensive research following the discovery had almost been enough to make Harry wish it had never been made, but he had conceded that it was better to learn as much as possible about his new ability.

That didn't change the fact that he was now on first name terms with what felt like half the population of all snake kind. The first time they had summoned a snake for the second time, it had been amusing. The second time, a little less so. Now they had to perform the spell several times to find a snake that he _hadn't_ interviewed more than once!

He knew it was getting bad when he started recognising their different dialects.

Still, it was worth it. Bella now had another pet project; trying to breed him a pet basilisk. It was trickier that they had thought, several failed attempts had resulted in snakes without the killing glare, and those were the better ones. She thought she had it worked out now, apparently, but Harry wasn't really holding his breath.

Narcissa had taken to studying a certain goblet that she wouldn't talk about. Apparently it was some ancient heirloom that Bella had retrieved from her vault, but neither sister were willing to talk to him about it yet. They said maybe next year, so he decided to wait.

What really annoyed him about the discovery was that both sisters had renewed their study of his cursed scar. Sometimes it was fine and they would do it while he slept, but other times it would prick and ache and hurt more than the time he had pressed Bella to hit him with her _Cruciatus Curse_. By hell that had hurt.

In the end nothing seemed to come of it, but both sisters were dreaming up something. He knew they were, but they had made him promise not to look into it, and to wait until they told him next year. It was meant to be a surprise, or something.

_Gah_.

But they had promised they would tell him for his ninth birthday, so he let it go.

But still. _Gah_.

That didn't mean he let them get away with keeping secrets unpunished. The moment he got his chance, he had Sirius apparate them off for another runaway trip to the muggle world. A few black market international portkeys later, and they were in America watching Emperor Palpatine wandlessly blast lightning at the foolish Jedi, while munching happily away on popcorn.

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	12. Chapter 12

Apparently it was considered bad form to cheer for the Sith, but a few Notice-Me-Not charms let Harry and Sirius cheer and laugh and provide commentary as they watched the _fascinating_ film over and over.

Who knew muggles could be so inventive? They were both pretty sure no one else could perform wandless magic with as much ease as Harry and the sisters, and Sirius too by this point, so the muggles must have thought it up themselves.

The fourth time they watched the film was devoted to mimicking, and then 'improving' the battles. Small conjured 'TIE-fighters' and 'X-wings' hovered and flew after each other, spurting red and green flickers of fire to blow each other up. They had tried using light charms but they simply couldn't do more than make pretty flashes, so the two boys always defaulted back to somewhat controlled fire.

By now the theatre was officially closed, but a few little charms and curses had the _friendly_ staff replaying the film and it's predecessors for them however they liked. Little replica ships now flew by the dozen around the whole theatre spitting fire and destroying each other in what was the most complicated and fun conjuration of Harry's life so far. He and Sirius cheered and mocked and groaned in turn as the battles raged and ebbed.

Then the real fun began. Taking a stance, Sirius solemnly held up his wand like it was a hilt, and silently called up ruby red fire before shaping it into a thin, solid beam. A flame-freezing charm eliminated any risk save fits of laughter from the tickling sensation it would induce. Harry mimicked him but with an emerald green 'blade' of fire. They matched the weapons from the film fairly well, save for the flickering candle-like ends, and the fact that their blades could be manipulated at will.

They had agreed to keep them consistently sized and in the fixed blade shape, but between a fully fledged Marauder and one in training, it was all but a lost cause. At least neither of them made more than one blade; both were saving it for next time.

Though Sirius always cheered for the Rebels and Sith whenever he felt like it, he couldn't fathom why red was the 'Sith' colour and green was for the good guys. To him it was as if the world had turned upside down. Griffindor red, evil? Slytherin green, _good_? What on earth were the muggles smoking? Actually he had a rather good idea of _exactly_ what they were high on, but he wasn't going to say that to his young godson. Even if the little devil had more likely than not already viewed those particular memories. Oh well.

Harry meanwhile liked the crimson blade better, which was why he liked fighting against it so he could stare at it more often. He had to admit though, in the back of his mind, that he knew the vivid green colour of his own 'fire-saber', as they had dubbed them, set off his bright emerald eyes beautifully. If there was one thing he was particularly vain about, it was his pretty green eyes. He had been horrified to learn his father along with most of the male Potters had needed to wear glasses, but thankfully that need was not passed onto him. It had absolutely nothing to do with certain rituals he had performed in secret.

A small bow and a formal flick of their fiery weapons, and then they were charging at each other with matching expressions of delighted glee. Crimson and emerald clashed over and over as they sometimes held their ground, other times leapt back and all over the place. Wandless banishing charms launched first random furniture and then themselves foes each other as they grew more involved in emulating the abilities shown in the films. After the first attempted choking, though, they had quickly agreed to leave that and the more lethal lightning for another time and place.

Such was their concentration that they failed to notice their new audience.

Bellatrix and Narcissa appeared with a small cracking noise that was lost amidst the clashing of fires and the whoops of boyish fun. They had long since placed tracking spells on both males but this was the first time they had really truly worried about their little Harry. He had been gone almost a full day!

They knew all about his little adventures in the muggle world, both the ones he thought they knew about and the ones they were supposedly ignorant about. But never before had he stayed away for so long. And to find him on the other side of the world playing sword games with fire in some kind of muggle stadium!

"What the _hell_ is _this_?"

Bella's sudden question broke both combatants' concentration resulting in what would have been a double decapitation, but turned out to merely induce two fits of laughter as the charmed fire sent tickling sensations over their skin.

"Bella! Cissy! You're both just in time to see the lightning in the film! Come on, come on sit down and watch this! The muggles really have some clever ideas you know. Shh! Just watch!"

Both sisters soon found themselves silenced and bound to the edge of their chairs, though without the magic they were familiar with. They watched spellbound as the last of the movie played before them, only to demand answers as to the various characters and plots, as well as what exactly they had just witnessed.

So it was that almost the whole surviving Black Family sat and watched the decidedly muggle Star Wars trilogy in a marathon session. The muggles working behind the scenes were long since exhausted, having been catering to the boys' whims all day, so Dobby was called to learn whatever strange muggle art it was that keep the pictures moving and relieve them of their compelled duties. And wipe their memories, naturally.

Sirius eventually fell asleep after all his rough housing and rather impressive magical feats, but the sisters didn't even notice. Harry napped on and off as well, feeding from the sisters in every intermission they called, and drawing on Sirius' magic as well.

That had taken quite a long time to get used to. Narcissa had given him the project of learning how to 'feed' using his hands instead of his lips, and from contact other than their nipples. Both he and Bella had protested this idea at first; Bella not liking the idea of no longer breast feeding Harry, and Harry not liking the idea of no longer drinking from their rather lovely breasts. But, he had eventually conceded the point that it was not always practical, and that he might at some point need to feed from a man and he was certainly _not_ putting his lips _anywhere near_ one of _them_.

Deep down in his mind, Harry had been relieved. Given how hungry he had been lately, and his hunger was only growing, it seemed clear to his unusual intelligence that he would soon have to feed from more sources. As much as Bella's and Cissy's magic was growing under his lips, it was not fast enough to sustain his growing requirements. He feared that eventually he might slip and drink deeper, robbing them of their power altogether somehow and depriving him of his loves. A seemingly baseless fear, but one nonetheless.

Harry had started off on some nameless prisoner, a rather weak one who would be no loss if he messed something up. It had taken a while for him to connect with their flow of magic with only hand contact but he had managed well enough. It did not flow so naturally to him, he had to actually try to draw it into himself and submerge it into his own flow. He had finally felt like he was nearing the finishing point, feeling more full than he had for a long time, when he realised he had utterly drained the man of all his magic.

Instead of growing it as he had with the sisters, he had simply drawn it in straight and left nothing behind, as he had feared. It took several days for the prisoner to exhibit any sign of his magic returning, and weeks after that the man was still less powerful than he had been. Meanwhile he had moved on to other prisoners, or playthings as Bella liked to call them, and was working on his little problem. It relieved him more than he cared to show when the prisoner's loss of magic was not permanent, simply magical exhaustion.

He practiced this new skill as often as he could, growing more and more proficient and at ease with the counterintuitive nature of imbibing magic through his hands.

So by the end of the month he had complete control of his feeding by hand. He could take as much or little as he liked, or take and grow as he did with the sisters, though never quite so easily as when he drank properly. It seemed the nature of forcing the connection through his fingertips or palms allowed him greater access to draw upon the other's magic. This let him could feed far more quickly, but no matter how he practiced he could never come close to matching the scope at which he could cultivate the other's magical potential by nursing from them.

Still, Harry kept practicing. Sometimes it was convenient or necessary to have rushed meals, even if they resulted in less growth for the sisters. His hands and mouth were so far the only places he could establish the connection, but he was working on that, too.

He could even simply interact with the flow of magic, neither giving nor taking but simply making his presence known or observing in some way. Cissy liked it when he made her magic glow with a rush of 'warmth' inside and around her, it made her smile sleepily. Bella on the other hand preferred it to run in 'sparks' down her spine and to her limbs, making her shiver.

Oh how he had loved making them feel good.

Harry had asked the sisters if he should grow Sirius' magic, and after some discussion they had agreed that he should, as Sirius would be more useful to them with more power, though he should never increase it as much as he did theirs. Just in case.

He could even feel the full _Imperius Curse_ clinging to his godfather's magic, much to Bella's glee. She had asked him to examine it and see if he could learn to replicate the feat more easily, but he had not yet made any progress. Still, she had high hopes.

So every other day Harry saw Padfoot he would pat his back or hold his hand and subtly feed on and grow the unsuspecting wizard's power. Apparently the clueless man thought it was a result of his extra training, and the wandless magic a nifty trick given by his Black blood that the sisters were honing. It was surprising that he had not truly noticed anything, but then Harry half suspected Bella had ordered him not to notice or ask questions about it.

It was not often Harry remembered that his godfather was under the _Imperius_, but it was necessary and he wouldn't give up his uncle Padfoot for something so small as free will. Not when everything was fine just the way it was.

Thoughts turned dreams running to happy places, Harry drifted to sleep between two beloved beautiful women to the sound of the Imperial March.

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"Come on, Cissy! 'Darth' would make a fantastic middle name!"

Narcissa rolled her eyes and made a sound of something between an exasperated sigh and a scoff, while Harry looked on in amused silence, gaze switching between sisters as they traded shots back and forth.

"We will not name our little Harry after some character from a drug-inspired muggle film! We agree that he should keep a first name that can be shortened to 'Harry', but his middle name at least should follow Black tradition!"

"But 'Hadrian Darth Black' would have them cowering in their boots!"

Another choked sound.

"You know full well he will be keeping the name 'Potter' for years to come! Either one of the noble constellations, or 'Black' which could be later swapped with 'Potter', making it 'Hadrian Potter Black'. Then later still it could be dropped for a proper middle name. Besides, I for one am not yet sold on 'Hadrian' in the first place."

Green eyes turned back to Bella for the rebuttal.

"But Cissy!" Bella tried again with her puppy eyes brimming with unshed tears that affected no one in the room. She saw the writing on the wall in the firm set of her sister's back, and gave up. "...fine. I still say 'Darth Black' would be amazing. But fine. Maybe 'Sith'...?"

Narcissa arched her eyebrow. Bellatrix pouted. Harry hid his snicker by biting his lips.

"...So, Harry. What do you think of 'Hadrian Black Potter'? After we are ready to be acknowledged as your guardians, of course."

Glad to finally be part of the discussion about changing his own name, Harry had his say.

"Umm, sure. I mean I get the whole Roman leader, wall, and dark thing. But it just looks so weirdly long. What about 'Haydn'? With the 'Y' and no 'E'. Or maybe that could be short for 'Hadrian'. Either way I think it would be ok to change that first. And for the middle name, there's only really one I like."

Harry tried not to shift his gaze to Cissy, but it happened anyway. Bella's eyes followed his, before she looked away.

Narcissa bore up with it perfectly though. Not so much as a flicker of pain, no reaction at all, not even the telltale forced stillness. Then she sighed.

"It's ok, Bella."

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After the first Cruciatus Curse her beloved Harry successfully cast and maintained, Bellatrix had been thinking of him as her little dragon. The dark glint in his eyes, the snarled incantation as he summoned up his hatred, the fierce yet satisfied expression as the pleasure trailed up into him even as he drank in his victim's screaming.

He was no mere serpent to be bound to the ground, sneaking and waiting and hissing and biting. He was more. He had fire, and claws and wings and he would rule to sky and all beneath it!

But her little sister had a son, named Draco. Her own little dragon, and he was lost to her. Every so often she would find her looking at photos of him and fighting back tears. Granted not often, and far less so recently, but still.

So Bella had fought against using this particular nickname, biting it back every time it tried to escape out past her lips. It had even worked for almost a week.

Then she had slipped. But at least Cissy wasn't there to hear it, and her Harry had loved it. From then on it had become their little secret nickname. Harry knew why it was secret and agreed with her reasons, even if he loathed it. That Draco was standing between him and Narcissa's full heart. Her ex-husband was a bastard who would be put down, but _this_ _Draco_...

This Draco was in his way.

He could feel it every time he drank from her magic; Cissy was not his. Not entirely. At first he had thought it was just something different, then that it was some remnant of Lucius, but now he knew the truth.

It had taken all his self control, backed by countless Occlumency lessons, to avoid lashing out in his childish rage and jealousy.

Cissy was meant to be his. No one else could have her.

But he knew his reaction was childish. Knew it would make them think him young and petty. So he bit back his anger and buried it deep down where they would not see it.

It was actually his first truly perfect use of Occlumency.

Bella was gifted in the mind arts. Not truly exceptional, but gifted all the same. She could shield herself perfectly, allowing no other access to her mind, but any attempt would know she was aware and blocking. Her gift did not extend to subtly hiding thoughts, nor drawing the enemy into traps. Likewise her Legilimency was strong and direct but lacked the delicate touch to delve into trained thoughts without prompting defense.

But she was perfect with what she had, and she was an excellent teacher.

Narcissa had some skill, but it was lesser and slowly learned. She focused entirely on defending her thoughts both actively and passively, and gleaning the basic intent of the surface thoughts of others. She could shield her thoughts, but also bury certain memories where any onlooker would have great difficulty finding them. More of a political use than her sister's battle-ready skills.

So Bellatrix was Harry's main teacher in the mind arts. He had some small amount of talent to begin with, but his main advantage lay in brute, overwhelming willpower. Which was also rather useful for the Imperius Curse, too. Both with resisting it and casting it. He could quickly detect overt legilimency and throw the connection back with such speed and force that any attacker would be quickly on the defensive, and badly loosing ground.

He could tear through defences like a dragon of old would through wooden forts, ripping and burning and smashing as he went, causing pain and devastation, or piercing through memories at speed. Subtlety in his attacks would have to be learned later.

Thus Harry learned that his beautiful Bella felt almost exactly as he did, and he loved her all the more for it. It also confirmed his fears, knowing that she shared the same concerns, if not quite the same jealousy.

But Harry could not allow her or more importantly Cissy to know how he felt about that Draco, so he buried his feelings on the matter deep, deep down inside his mind. Behind layers of defences and even more layers of camouflage. He learned to hide memories and thoughts without overtly blocking them. Granted he could not do so for any great length in her presence as it would constantly try to bubble to the surface, but it was a start that he continuously built on. Next would be more subtle legilimency, which was more difficult for him.

Dragons could do patient and scheming, but once active it was rather hard for them to do subtle. And ever since Bella had first whispered in that breathless voice, "_my little dragon_", he had felt very connected to the symbolism. It just _fit_. More than that, he had _wanted_ to be her dragon. Dragons were strong, dragons ruled, dragons protected what was theirs with fang and claw and fire. He was theirs. Bella was his.

But Cissy wasn't his. Not fully. Not _yet_.

Oh how it galled him. But he held back and did all he could to win her over. It had seemed to work over time as the years passed. Slowly but surely he gained more ground in her heart, though always that last little niggle remain, taunting him.

Somehow, one day Bella suddenly got it into her mind that she should discuss her new pet name for him with her sister. Ask her feelings on the matter, put old wounds to rest, or something. Harry didn't know why, and he didn't really care. All he knew was that soon afterwards Bella was upset, mostly with herself, and Cissy was pensive and detached.

The next few months were delicate and some of the worst of his life so far. Which wasn't saying much, Harry knew for a fact he had it far better than the sisters and Sirius. Things were tense. Training sessions grew less fun, lessons happened more and more in the pensieve and conversations were stilted. It would get better, then worsen when Cissy would overhear Bella use that loaded nickname. Or more often, when she could tell Bella had caught herself and stopped just short.

Eventually things had settled down until almost back to normal. Mostly due to the fact that Bella had actually cursed her tongue to heat in warning every time she thought of crooning '_my little dragon_'. At least in her sister's presence. Outside of that, it was their little secret.

**HBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

**HBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

So it was with with no small amount of swallowed anger that Harry cleared his throat and asked Cissy softly if she was sure.

She replied just as quietly. "Yes, sweety, it's ok. I agree, it is a good name and the only one to fit you properly. I have been thinking myself that it is the most apt. I– It's just... He is my son. I will always miss him and the years stolen from us. Had things been different, you might have called him brother."

In which case it would have been easier to have the brat fall victim to a _horribly_ fatal accident. Oh, if _only_.

A few deep breaths and and a moment of concentration later, Harry had locked away all negative emotion and tried to enjoy the creation of his new name. A name to wear proudly when he was ready to take on the world.

Would it be Hadrian 'Haydn' Draco Black? Maybe. They still had some years to work on it yet.

**HBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

**HBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHBHB**

**Quick questions: What do you think should happen with Andromeda Tonks?**

I will not be excessively bashing any characters in this story. No one will be undeservedly stupid or hurtful. Ted Tonks is a lovely young man who was nice and clever enough to woo Andromeda Black into marrying him, a muggleborn, inspite of the wrath of her family. I will not have him or anybody else randomly die, be uncharacteristically abusive, or impotent. The sisters and/or Harry cursing him to die 'accidentally', become abusive or impotent, however, is entirely possible hehe.

I'm just not sure why they would want to, or if they should, or how they would go about wooing their estranged sister back. Or maybe they should just try to be friends once more? How would their interactions begin, and how would they go from there? Once again, why would they bother?

**What do you think?**

**Reviews are food for my muse!**


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